Blood Ties
by Stone Jackal
Summary: Three brothers; torn apart by good intentions; come together to bring a final end to the insanity. And reunite a broken family.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Blood Ties

**Summary: **Three brothers; torn apart by good intentions; come together to bring a final end to the insanity. And reunite a broken family.

**Disclaimer: **General Hospital belongs to ABC and affiliates. I am merely borrowing.

**Author's Note:** This is my first fore into GH fanfic. Hopefully the story works out here as well as it has been in my head. Updates may be a bit scattered, as the storyline has a few twists and turns even _I _have yet to discover. And if anyone wishes to see the wonderful banner for this fic, created by the amazing _Huma the Guma_, follow the link in my profile.

**And**, of course, much thanks to beta Selene Antilles.

--

Prologue 

The sun lay low over the small grove of trees in the riotously blooming garden. The oranges, purples, pinks, and reds split the sky, the colors spilling onto the vegetation below.

She sighed, rubbing her hand over her swollen abdomen as she stared out of the second floor window. She hadn't been in her garden in two and a half weeks. Anthony had forbid it, his temper blazing as he ranted about her betrayal, about how she was only trying to go back to _him_. She had cowered in the corner, as usual. She was terrified of her husband. Her abusive, controlling, destructive, manipulating bastard of a husband.

Anthony ruled their home - his home, her prison - with an iron fist. He controlled everything—where she went, who she spoke to, who she saw, what she did. Especially now.

She couldn't, she _wouldn't_, let her babies grow up that way. Not her children, not in this hell with no escape. She had to save her babies.

Anthony knew she was pregnant. He also knew that the child she carried wasn't his. _He knew the _child_ she carried wasn't his_. Anthony believed that she was having _one_ baby. _A baby_. Not the twins she actually carried. There had to be a way.

Perhaps she couldn't save both of her babies right away, but she _and_ her children _would_ escape her husband's tyrannical insanity.

If it was the last thing she did.

--

He crept into the garden, keeping a vigil eye out for his father, or grandfather, or worse, his brother, passing by. He couldn't chance them coming too close and seeing him. He couldn't deal with them and their multitude of issues right now.

A smile he couldn't help, but would not smother, bloomed as he approached his grandmother. She was seated in her chair, happily among her flowers, her fingertips gently brushing the soft petals.

"Hello Grandmother."

"Jason." The old woman looked down and a big smile broke out over her pale countenance as she saw him. "Hello darling."

He smiled back, crouching low by her chair and taking her soft hand in his, "How are you?"

"I'm doing well my dear," Lila grasped her grandson's hand tightly in hers, "Although, I'm much better now that I see you're still in one piece."

Jason leaned into the wizened hand she placed against his cheek, "You don't have to worry about me, Grandmother. I'll be alright."

"I know dear," Lila smiled brightly at her adored grandson. Then the smile dimmed and her face turned serious. "Jason, darling, I have something very serious that I have to tell you."

Jason's brow furrowed as he waited curiously for his grandmother to continue. "Go on." He wondered what could cause such a shadow to cross her face. Her entire body tensed and Jason became uneasy.

"Your brothers need you my darling," Lila began, but the bushes began to rustle as the Quatermaine family made their way through the garden towards her. Lila glanced around furtively, "Your brothers need your help."

As the family neared, Jason could see his beloved Grandmother was becoming more and more nervous. He could tell that there was more she wanted to tell him, but she clammed up tightly as AJ stopped steps away.

"You should go darling, before they see you," Lila advised, no matter how unhappy it made her to see him go. She would have to tell him the secret another time; though it must be soon, for he needed to know.

"I'll be back," He promised, confused by her secrecy, "I promise, I'll see you soon. You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

"Good my darling," Lila smiled as her grandson chanced being spotted by his father, mother, grandfather or brother, standing taller to press a kiss to her pale, wrinkled cheek. "I love you my dear."

"I love you too," He replied with a soft smile before heading back the way he'd come.

_Your brothers need you_. _Your brothers need your help_. This baffled him. _His brothers_? _Brothers._ As in more than one. He had AJ, relatively speaking. Was Grandmother talking about AJ? AJ was in trouble? That wasn't exactly a _new _occurrence, but Grandmother was just as aware as he was that AJ would never accept his help for anything. What could Lila mean? He decided to continue their conversation the very next time he visited. Which would be very, very soon.

**--**

**Well??**


	2. Chapter One

**Title: **Chapter One

**Summary: **Three brothers; torn apart by good intentions; reunite to bring a final end to the insanity. And to reunite a broken family.

**Disclaimer: **General Hospital belongs to ABC and affiliates. I am merely borrowing.

**Author's Notes: **Onto chapter one. This begins after some years have passed since the prologue. A few things from canon GH will be altered to fit the story. Be prepared for a few surprise changes to a couple of characters. And, of course, thanks to Selene Antilles for her awesome beta-ing! :)

--

"Are you listening to me?"

Jason looked up innocently from where he'd been spinning his cell phone in the palm of his hand, as he'd waited with barely restrained impatience for her phone call, "Yeah Sonny, I heard. The Zaccharas are evil, must be exterminated." Yada yada yada. Sonny had been on the exact same song-and-dance for the past six months. Jason had to wonder if the elder man had a hidden affinity for show tunes.

"You've been distracted," Sonny pointed out, "What's goin' on with you?"

Jason studied Sonny's face; searching for a glimpse of the best friend, the brother he'd found in the man years before. But seated behind the ornate desk, in the expensive designer (with Sonny it always was) suit, that man was no longer present. Instead, a convoluted, removed version of the friend, the brother he remembered, remained in his place. Jason could remember the last time Sonny had spoken to him as an equal, but it was long past.

"Well?" Sonny demanded impatiently. Whereas the Sonny of old would have stood, rounded the desk, and catching the younger blonde's eye, called his attention with a soft spoken _Jase_; the shell of his former friend declared irritably, "I need you focused here Jason. If the Zaccharas try to make a move on my territory, God help that idiot kid."

Jason sighed. Right, kid. Johnny Zacchara was a kid in _way_ over his head. A boy thrust into a man's game of life and death that he didn't even want to play. The kid was stuck, by commitments and threats and demands and enemies made by his clinically insane father. Johnny Zacchara was trapped and Jason sympathized. He'd seen the kid in action. And while he too would have to agree that when John first arrived on the scene it appeared that the young man had a death wish, it now had evened out, and at the Black and White Ball, Johnny had done well. In that dark, dangerous, and deadly night on Spoon Island, Jason saw the real strength and fortitude behind the rumors of insanity and façade of bravado. And he respected the kid. Sonny had decided before he'd ever laid eyes on the kid that he was trouble that should be extinguished before he became a problem. Sonny didn't have the chance to see what Jason had (he'd been too busy the night Jason had lost his adored little sister; fawning over Kate Howard) and refused to listen when Jason tried to explain his own position. It had gotten to the point where Sonny would rant on, and Jason would ignore, only peripherally paying any attention. Then, Sonny would head off to be Kate Howard's whipping boy, and Jason would take care of everything. The business, that Sonny continually deemed his own, _Sonny's_ ex-wife, _Sonny's_ paternally neglected children. God-fucking-forbid he wasn't intently, at all times, focused on something _Sonny_. God-fucking-forbid he carved out a couple of spare milliseconds for his _own _family; for Elizabeth and their boys. And for Spinelli; he had to count the bumbling, verbally baffling, tech-savvy kid he'd shared an apartment with for the past two years.

"Sonny," Jason kept his voice and expression blank, free of the frustration and disappointment he actually felt. Spinelli didn't call him _Stone Cold_ for nothing. "Johnny isn't a threat. The kid wants peace as bad as we do."

Anger twisted Sonny's face and his short frame shot out of his desk chair, slamming his fist on the desk top, "Maybe _I_ don't want peace! _I_ want you to take care of Junior. Now!"

Jason bit back his own retort. No, the man across from him was no longer the friend and mentor Jason had admired and respected. All that was left was a sniveling facsimile that the original wouldn't have recognized. "War would be a stupid move Sonny. You know that. Besides, Johnny-he hasn't done anything to provoke us or to warrant any kind of attack."

"Don't tell _me_ what _I _know!" Sonny yelled, furious at Jason's presumptuousness, "_I'm_ the boss here! _You_ work for _me_!"

Wondering just how it was that Sonny could have remained alive all of these years if Jason hadn't been around to clean up after him, he clenched his jaw. "We're _partners, _Sonny. You better not forget that."

While Sonny pondered the meaning of Jason's last rebelliously uttered phrase, Jason's cell phone finally buzzed in his hand. Offering no dismissal or acknowledgement to Sonny, he stood and left the office, slamming the door with finality behind him.

--

He'd quickly exited the coffee shop the office was housed in, ducking behind an oddly placed, decorative tree and tried not to drop his phone as he fumbled to open it and bring it to his ear, "Hey."

"Hey you." Warmth radiated from her voice, and coaxed a smile from his stony countenance. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, no," Jason quickly assured her. Truthfully, he'd been waiting on pins and needles for this call. "Nothing important."

"Good." Silly grins were present on both ends of the line. "Can you meet me?"

"Our place, twenty minutes," was his quick reply. God, he loved her. She was the only one who could make him this nervous and giddy. Hell, she was the only woman who could make him giddy at _all_.

"Hurry." Her voice dropped a few octaves to a seductive tone that had something quite masculine rumbling within him. "I'm already here. Waiting for you. All by myself."

Gripping the phone, he swore, "I'll be there. Soon."

"I love you," She declared happily, fearlessly.

"I love you too," He replied resolutely. God, he loved her.

--

"Johnny, are you paying _any_ attention, at all, to what I'm saying to you?"

_Good lord_. For the past few hours, he'd been trapped in his father's office, a room he'd always been forbidden to enter when his father had occupied a place in their home—his father's home, his prison. Now that his father was locked up in a hospital for the criminally insane, keeping everyone safe from his madness, Johnny had free reign of the Zacchara mausoleum, and this room had been one of the last rooms he'd ventured to enter.

But now, now Johnny was in the formerly forbidden office, listening to his father's long-time attorney, Trevor Lansing, drone on and on about the family _business_. Holdings, ventures, territories, enemies, codes, protocols, commitments. His head was swimming with business jargon and thinly veiled references to the less-than-legal portions (hell, that part entailed _most_ of the amassed so-called Zacchara empire) of his father's business. According to Trevor, Anthony Zacchara's business acumen had been unsurpassed in his father's tenure as _head_ of the family. As this statement passed the attorney's lips, Johnny didn't bother to try to suppress or hide the resulting chortle. His father had been a force to be reckoned with, for sure. Until he'd gone stark raving mad. Then, the once powerful, ruthless, and controlling Anthony Zacchara was easily contained behind the four walls of this very office.

"Yeah, yeah Trevor, I'm listening." The only thing keeping Johnny's face from flattening against the desk top was his hand propped under his chin, keeping his head upright, even as he dozed through Trevor's lectures. If he had the choice, he'd rather smack his head up against a wall multiple times than listen to Trevor's monotone voice for a moment longer.

"You had better be," The graying attorney muttered, "Because _you_ are the next in line to run the Zacchara business. You have to know these things Johnny, to survive in this business. You have to know how to play or you'll end up squashed under everybody else's feet."

"I _know_," Johnny exclaimed angrily, "I've been listening to you blather on for days Trevor. I think you've managed to drive it into my thick skull by now." Truth be told, he would rather be doing anything—driving his car too fast around the cliff roads he'd found in Port Charles, winding and squealing the tires around the sharp corners. Or getting a colonoscopy without anesthesia. Though it hadn't gotten so bad that he'd rather be visiting his father. He wanted to avoid _that_ as much as possible. He'd spent the first twenty years of his life being controlled by his father's whims and ravings; he wouldn't spend the next twenty the same way.

"Listen John." Trevor gracefully folded himself into a nearby chair, facing Johnny with a critical eye. "I realize that it was never your dream to take over your father's business. But if let to its own devices, the situation could very well implode into something very treacherous. And we can't let that happen."

"We?" Johnny arched a brow, regarding the attorney with the same critical eye. "Who said anything about we?"

"Of course I'll be there every step of the way," Trevor assured, gesturing with flat hands, palms down, "To guide and advise you through the rough road ahead. Just remember John, we're in this together.

"A little hasty, aren't you, Trevs?" A feminine voice asked bluntly from the doorway. Both men looked to find a tall brunette, a long black trench coat covering her from neck to knees. The only touch of color she wore were the blood red stilettos on her feet.

Johnny gaped, blinking rapidly. It couldn't be who he thought it was. Could it?

Trevor stifled an exasperated sound. He'd called her back, but he had a feeling he would soon regret that move.

The woman in the door smiled confidently. "It's me John." She strode across the room towards him, holding out a hand to him as she arrived at his chair. "I'm home, baby brother. I'm home."

--

She groaned as her head banged lightly against the wall and he sealed his lips to hers once again. They kissed hungrily, as if it had been years since the last time they'd had the chance. Loosening her lips from his just enough to talk, she murmured, "I thought you'd never get here."

"The ride was too damn long," He replied gruffly, grazing his hand over her leg, from where her ankles linked at the small of his back to her thigh, and onward, before curving around her behind to keep her close, "All I could think about was getting back here, to you."

"Oh, baby," She looped her arms around his neck tightly, pulling his face to hers for another voracious kiss. She traced his lips with her tongue, "I missed you. "

It was his turn to groan as she squirmed deliciously against his front to gain a better vantage point for her assault on his mouth. She nibbled at his bottom lip; knowing that watching her do the same to her own nearly drove him crazy.

"God woman," He growled, "You're going to be the death of me."

She pulled her face back from his and smiled a deviously sultry smile. "So long as I'm the only one." Her hand drifted down from stroking his scruffy jaw line to his exposed, defined chest. Her fingers tangled with the chain that hung around his neck, ornamented by a simple gold band.

"You're the only one 'Lizabeth." Resting his forehead against hers, he guaranteed, "You are _definitely _the only one. I love you."

"Me too," She moaned in his ear as his lips descended onto her shoulder, placing slow, damp kisses along her collarbone, "Me too baby."

--

The day had passed well he decided as he sprawled comfortably on the sofa, sipping his third bottle of nectar of the Gods, at Casa de Stone Cold. Stone Cold himself was not at home at present, but _that_ was not a new occurrence. There was always something urgent that demanded Stone Cold's attention; whether it be Mr. Corinthos Sir, the Valkeryie, some altercation with Nefarious Night Crawlers, a run-in with the Long Arms of Justice… and, oh, the list went on. Though Spinelli didn't begrudge Stone Cold a second the man spent on his own life, all right maybe a _second_, there were moments where Spinelli missed his best friend. After careful consideration, Spinelli had decided that his mentor would have to be cloned, so that one could work, one could be at Valkeryie's, and Mr. Corinthos' beck and call, one could be available to the Quatermaines, another could do what Spinelli knew Stone Cold was dying to do—spend time with the Maternal One, and the wee ones. And still another could be with Spinelli, to direct and guide him as he tried to navigate the un-cyber world. Because he, the Jackal, was failing miserably on his own at such an endeavor.

Spinelli sighed heavily, watching the television screen as the credits rolled to the movie he'd been perusing. It hadn't really held his attention. It was a film he'd chosen because of its fashionista-istic leanings. _The Devil Wears Prada_ was not a cinematic delight that Spinelli would have normally indulged in; he was more of a _man_ movie type; full of action, adventure, explosions, that kind of thing. But he was sure that Maximista had been firmly encamped in his mind when he chose which silver screen entertainment he would partake in this evening.

Maximista. The Formerly Bad Blonde One had firmly encamped herself in the Jackal's heart as well as his mind. She captured his attention, his heart, his very soul, by her blonde grace. They had connected in searching for the evildoer responsible for taking the lives of Fair Georgie and Noble Emily, but it had grown into much more than that. She had called him her best friend. _Her best friend_. And while the Jackal was immensely pleased with that salutation, he wished for something more from Maximista. He wished for a-a-a-an emotional connection with her, and eventually, though sooner rather than later, the Jackal wished, for a physical connection. But he had no idea as to how to accomplish such a venture. He did not have the skills that some men possessed, that allowed them to freely and adeptly converse with the opposite sex. To make a connection with a woman, and have that connection subsequently evolve into something deeper, something more than _friends_.

_This_ was why Spinelli needed Stone Cold around.

"Spinelli!" A rapid knock on the apartment door had Spinelli leaping from his position on the couch to answer, "Spinelli open this door! Spinelli!"

Throwing the door open without a second thought, Spinelli smiled broadly as Maximista strode into Case de Stone Cold on couture heels, and opened her arms and scolded, "Where have you been Spinelli? I've been calling you and calling you! I left you like, five messages. Don't you check your phone?"

"Maximista!" Spinelli exclaimed, clumsily digging into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone, finding that it had been turned off. Hastily, he depressed the button to turn the power on, and soon, sure enough, the screen blinked with six missed messages. "The Jackal offers his humblest apologies Maximista. He—I must have turned it off while I was perusing a fantastic piece of cinematic marvel."

"Cinematic marvel?" Maxie wondered, flipping her perfectly styled blonde hair off of her forehead, "Ooh, what movie did you get?"

A light bulb went off in Spinelli's head. "Uh, one that perhaps the Maximista would be so inclined to examine with the Jackal? He—uh—I realize that I chose the film as you were in my thoughts."

"Aww, Spinelli," She grinned, patting his cheek tenderly, and then passed by him to the coffee table in front of the couch. Excitedly, she exclaimed, "Oooo, _Devil Wears Prada_! This one's my favorite! How did you know?"

Spinelli shrugged bashfully, a goofy grin that was permanently present when the Jackal—he—was in Maxie's bodacious presence.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Okay, a few timeline issues to clear up before we proceed. As it stands, I have no use for Sam or Lucky, except for keeping each other out of Liason's orbit. So, while their existence is admitted, they will most likely not make an appearance.

Lucky buggered off after it was revealed that he was not, in fact, Jake's daddy. Lucky, as per his faboo fatherly role model has disappeared to parts unknown. The TMK-pile-o-crap storyline is over, finished, kaput. Although stupid, Emily and Georgie are still gone from the canvas. And Sam has left too; gone somewhere _else_ to do physical therapy on her hip. Oh yeah, Monica still drunkenly hit her and is in rehab. Jason and Monica have _made up_, and Jase _drops by_ (re: sneaks in) to visit his Momma periodically.

Please R&R. Many thanks to beta Selene.

--

"_Where are you?"_

"Don't get your panties in a twist Trevs," Claudia Zacchara teased, knowing the complete lack of control was, and would continue, to drive the Zacchara family attorney near batty, "I'm perfectly safe and sound. Not even an eyelash out of place."

"This is no joking matter Claudia," Trevor warned testily, "You call a meeting with the Five Families, and then you disappear. We need to be prepared for this Claudia. _Where_ are you?"

"I'm already in Port Charles," Claudia swilled the remaining liquid in her martini glass, before gulping it down and gesturing to the bartender for another, "Scoping out the lay of the land, that sort of thing. I thought I'd see the place for myself before I jaunt off to the meeting."

The frustration was evident in the elder man's voice. "We need to present a united front here Claudia. With your father gone, we need to show the other families that the Zaccharas are still as strong as ever."

"Right Trevor, the Zaccharas." Smiling her thanks to the server who set another drink in front of her, she plucked the olive from the glass, and raked it from the decorative stick with her teeth. "Last I checked, your last name was Lansing."

Trevor tried quickly to reason with her, but she cut him off before he could utter more than a syllable, "No Trevor, you will be there simply to make introductions. I don't need your interference, and I sure as hell don't need your help. Your crap may have worked on my father, but he was a certifiable loony. I'm not going to fall for it. So you can either accept that fact, and be the faithful attorney who keeps his nose _out_ of my business; or we can part ways right now, because we both know that _I_ don't need you. _You_ need me. More importantly, you need my family name to keep your ass safe from all the people you pissed off while running things in Daddy's name."

"I have been a loyal employee of your father's for more than twenty years," Trevor huffed, "And here Claudia, your bravado means nothing. You need me to take care of this meeting. The leaders of the Five Families won't trust you or respect you simply because you say you're Anthony Zacchara's daughter."

--

"Ow," Nadine hopped on one foot to the bench in behind a few bushes. Hopefully no one would bother her, and she could berate herself for her stupid feelings, stupid thoughts, and even more stupid actions, "Ow, ow, ow, ow."

She flopped onto the bench, and carefully lifted her throbbing ankle to balance on her opposite knee. She gently wiggled her sneaker off, and then pried off her white sports sock. Tenderly, she probed the swelling joint, her fingertips brushing the blue-purple bruise, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Hey-uh-are you okay?"

Nadine's stomach knotted as she looked up to find a member, the head actually, of one of New York's most feared mafia families gazing down at her concernedly. His hands were in his light-weight, black sports coat pockets, his legs were encased in faded blue jeans, just tight enough to hint at the delicious secrets hidden beneath the denim. He bent to the side at the waist to see her face.

"Ye-ye-oh-yeah," Nadine stammered, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" The dark lord (clearly her ankle injury was spreading, if she was thinking in Star Wars terms) sat lightly beside her on the bench, almost perching on the edge of it. "Because that," He pointed to her rapidly swelling appendage, "Looks like it hurts."

"It's not so bad," Nadine replied, trying to deflect the mobster's attention away, "It hurts a little, yeah, sure, but not as much as say, a gunshot wound would."

--

"Jason, in here! Now!" Sonny bellowed from the inner office. Max offered a sympathetic look to his friend and employer as the blonde stood, heaving a weary sigh.

"Good luck," The guard offered wryly, and Jason rolled his eyes as he slowly wandered towards the office, dreading entering and facing Sonny.

"What's up?" Jason lifted his chin as he came to pause in the doorway.

"Sit down," Sonny ordered, not looking up from whatever was scattered across his desk. Jason was growing agitated with Sonny's orders and presumptions, and knew he wasn't the only one. How long would it last before someone's loyalty was seriously called into question?

"What's going on Sonny?" Jason asked, lowering himself into the chair on the opposite side of the heavy desk, tapping the eraser end of a pencil against the arm of his chair, "What do you need?" He'd nearly asked what the other man _wanted_, but stopped himself in time to avoid another classic Sonny outburst.

"The Zaccharas have called a meeting with the Five Families," Sonny grunted, tossing whatever he was feigning working on to the side of the desk, "You hear anything about that?"

"A couple of rumblings, but nothing major. Why? What's up?" Jason shrugged himself into a more comfortable position in his chair, "You expecting something to go down?"

"We need to keep a close eye on the Zaccharas, Jason," Sonny bluntly said, while Jason was biting his tongue to keep from saying anything, "We need to provide a united front for the Families. Show 'em that my, y'know, my organization is strong, that nobody can knock it down. We—we gotta show them that no Zacchara is gonna waltz in here and take what's mine y'know?"

_Ours _was on the tip of his tongue, but he managed to refrain, "What do you suggest then Sonny?"

"You're going to come with me."

--

Her stomach felt like the bottom had fallen out of it. _Had she really just said that?_ To _him_? How _stupid _was she?

But her worries that her rambling would cause her companion to remove his "piece" from his pocket and "let her have it" were quickly proven unfounded. He looked at her sideways, but then his gaze grew amused, and a chuckle burst forth from the presumed brute. His amusement lightened the angry, frightening glare his face had previously held, and an oppressive weight seemed to lift from his shoulders.

"So, what's your story?" He asked after a few long moments of silence. He noticed that the blonde occupying the other half of the bench was, though not successfully, trying to hide the fact that his reputation had preceded him, and that she hadn't the slightest idea how to speak to him.

"M-m-my what?" She stuttered, working very hard to keep her gaze locked on her throbbing ankle. Her rambling was surely going to do her in before the night was out.

"Your story," He repeated offhandedly, resting his shoulders comfortably back against the top rung of the bench, "The reason you're limping out here instead of being somewhere else."

She could have come up with an intelligent response. She could have pleaded ignorance; made something up; denied she had a _story_. She was a respectable nurse, having passed nursing school with one of the highest grade point averages in her class. But could she form words, sentences that didn't make her sound like a moron? Of course not.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Dear _god_, now she _wanted _him to shoot her.

--

"Trevor, why don't you have a drink and calm yourself down?" Claudia suggested icily, "Or maybe you should stick to beverages of a non-alcoholic nature, because clearly you've imbibed too much if you think that you can tell me what to do. My father may be crazy enough to fall for your reindeer games, but you are not going to pull the same kind of crap with me. Do you understand me old man?"

"Claudia, where do you think you are? In Milan?" Trevor retorted, "This is not a wine-and-cheese-tasting with your dopey uncle, and his merry band of money launderers. We're going to have a meeting with the Five Families. They are hitters; heavy ones, including Corinthos, who might want _you_ dead on sight."

"I'd really like to know what this ugly history is between you and Sonny Corinthos, it colors every word you say about him," Claudia raked another olive from the stir-stick with her teeth, pausing as she mused, "It's fascinating."

"We have to have an agenda," Trevor pushed, as if his word was final.

"Go in there with your _big plan_ and something goes wrong, you've got nothing," Claudia snapped, setting the martini glass down on the bar with more force than necessary, "We do this my way, all you have to do is make an introduction and get out my way. This is the last time I'm saying this Trevor. Has it forced its way into your head yet? Or is your skull that impenetrable that you can't understand a simple order?"

"You're not going to be this reckless on purpose are you?" Trevor demanded, sounding as if he had reached the end of his rope, and was dangling over a precipice by the end.

"Watch me," Claudia flipped the phone shut, a satisfied grin on her face. She was _not_ going to be played by some scum-sucker who _thought_ he ran the show. The grin widened as Claudia gleefully appreciated what affect her return would have on the seemingly _comfortable_ life Trevor Lansing had while he played the Zacchara family like puppets. Not anymore; not her and not John. She would see to it.

--

"Ah, c'mon Elizabeth," Robin trailed after her as she strode across the lobby floor to the nurses' hub, patient file in hand, "It'll be fun."

"I don't know Robin," Elizabeth kept her eyes on the binder as she made notes in it; "I don't really think it's a good idea."

"Why not?" Robin leaned on the counter of the hub, "Don't leave with me with both of them."

Elizabeth chuckled, closing the binder and tucking it back into its place in the stack, "I think you can handle it."

The pathologist rolled her eyes, rubbing a flat hand over her pregnancy bump, "I can tell Leo has a crush on you."

"Really?" Elizabeth couldn't help but ask, fingering the chain around her neck and fisting her hand around the gold band threaded over the chain.

"Yeah really," Robin grinned, thinking she may be getting somewhere, "You should come out tonight with Leo, Patrick, and me, have dinner, have some fun."

"I just don't really think that it's a good time for me to be going out on a date right now," Elizabeth squeezed the ring one last time before reaching for another patient chart, at the same time tucking the chain and ring safely out of sight.

_No_, she thought wryly, now was _not_ a good time for her to be dating. Holding in a giggle she realized, her husband would have a _fit_.

--

"Do you do that often?" he asked, just as she was contemplating making a run for it, bad ankle or not.

"Do what?" Nadine blurted, smoothing her palms over her thighs, flattening imaginary wrinkles in her scrubs.

"Ramble," Johnny turned a disarmingly handsome smile in her direction, and now Nadine felt herself puddle into her own shoes, "Or is it only when you're nervous?"

"Nervous? Me, nervous?" Nadine forced a smile of her own, raking her blonde locks away from her face, "No, I'm not nervous. A little weirded out maybe, to be telling my quote unquote issues to a total stranger, an armed and dangerous stranger," The hand in her hair flew to cover her mouth, "Oh my god, I am _so_ sorry. I'll bet you hear that all the time huh? The armed and dangerous part, I mean. Gah!" She exclaimed, exasperated with herself, "There I go again! Here I am, rambling on and on about the stupidest things. I'll bet you think you sat down next to a raving lunatic."

"Hey, hey," There was that damn smile again, "Trust me on this, I know raving lunatics; and you?" Not thinking about it, feeling quite natural about it, he placed a hand on her knee and squeezed gently, "Don't even tip the scales."

Finally, a genuine smile brightened her face.

--

"I thought a Zacchara called this meeting," Salvatore observed, and suddenly the door to the back room flung open, and in sauntered a woman all dressed in black; tight black jeans, a tight black top with a deep, open v-neck, and a black trench coat, the buttons left undone and the lapels flying open. She fixed the men gathered around the table in the center of the room with an appraising stare, before smiling like she wasn't surrounded by dark, particularly dangerous men in the back room of a cheesy sports bar,

"One did."


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them; I'm just borrowing for a little while. I'll give them back. Someday.

**Author's Notes: **This one took me longer than I expected. I want to say thank you to all of those who took the time to read and reply. They keep me going. 

I apologize in advance if there are mistakes/typos in this chapter. My beta is on vacation, so I may have missed some errors.

--

Jason could tell something was bothering Sonny. The older man had been pacing the small office since his arrival, barely speaking, and gesturing wildly to himself. He was debating waiting him out and seeing if Sonny finally just came out with whatever it was he wanted to ask. Finally Sonny burst out, "How the hell do you know Claudia Zacchara?"

"I told you, and she told the Families at the meeting. I did business with her uncle when I left town years ago," Jason returned, eyeing his former friend critically, "Were you listening last night?"

"Don't you question me!" Sonny blasted him, sending the glass he'd held across the office. Jason didn't flinch as the glassware whizzed by his head and smashed against the door, falling in slivers to the floor.

The two former best friends, former self-proclaimed _brothers_, each standing ramrod straight, simply stared at each other. There was no caring, no regard in either of their gazes. Rage and resentment permeated Sonny's glare; while the icy-cold emotionless indifference now held Jason's face in the concrete stare. Neither spoke, simply stared across the charged atmosphere of the office.

Timidly the door creaked open, and Max stood in the opening, with Diane hovering behind him, "Everything all right in here?"

Sonny, for once, remained silent. His eyes bore into Jason's, but Jason would not be the first to look away. Sonny's dark eyes widened, then the older man looked from his former friend to the bodyguard and lawyer in the doorway, "Things just got, y'know, just got a little heated, that's all. Right Jason?"

"Right," Jason ground out, shouldering his way out of the office, past Max and Diane. He didn't look back as someone called out his name, simply headed straight for the door, and his motorcycle. He needed to get out of there. Fast.

The three left in the office stared after the retreating leather clad back. Finally long, tense moments, with both Diane and Max wanting to bring their curiosities to light, were broken by Sonny's bark of, "Max, get a broom in here and clean this mess up, now."

--

_Nothing. Absolutely nothing._

Spinelli slumped back in his chair and gazed around the bright, friendly, family diner. He sat alone, which wasn't a new occurrence, but it just made his current mood all the more lonely. Grumbling to himself, he reached for his glass of orange soda and slurped for long minutes through the straw, until there was nothing left in the glass and he was met by that empty sucking sound.

He sighed, thumping his glass back onto the table, and dropped his eyes back onto his keyboard.

_Nothing. Absolutely nothing._

"Hey kid," Mike wiped his hands on the dishtowel he kept hanging from his apron, "You doin' okay?"

Spinelli forced a smile, "I am quite well, Esteemed Father of Mr. Sir. I am simply," He gave a short, guffaw that sounded off, "The Jackal is simply working on a project for," He paused, tried to quell his 

nervous stutter as he made up his excuse right on the spot, "For Stone Cold, and it is all not going exactly as planned."

"You'll get it Spinelli," Mike encouraged, "You always do. How'bout another orange soda to keep you going huh?"

With a real smile this time, Spinelli effused, "That would be extremely refreshing. Many thanks."

Mike smiled, amused. He reached out and lightly picked up the glass, "Comin' right up."

Tapping a few keys, holding the grin as long as he could; Spinelli waited until Mr. Sir's esteemed relation disappeared back into the kitchen before he released the heavy breath with a whine and dropped his face to the tabletop.

_Absolutely nothing._

--

"And—you must really want a drink," Jason glanced quizzically at his companion as she grinned slowly, "This is the third place you've shown me with a bar. If I had of known, that when I asked you to show me around, we were going on a pub crawl, I'd of—ugh," Groaning, she gripped his shoulder and arched to slip one stiletto heel off her aching foot, "I'd of worn flats." Wrinkling her nose at the thought of placing her foot back on the ground, she stood like a flamingo; looking ridiculous in her short, red designer dress, with one shoe-less foot in the air.

He watched her with a mixture of confusion and morbid curiosity, "Put your shoe back on."

"Why?" She huffed, waving her shoe in his direction, "They don't smell."

"No shirt, no shoes, no service," Jason quipped, hiking a thumb at the MetroCourt's front entrance, "It's one of those fancy places."

"Ooo," Claudia faked excitement, then let it drop, "You mean like MacDonalds?"

Quirking a brow, he ordered tersely, "Put your shoe back on."

"Fine," She dragged her shoe back into place, "But you're--"

"Buying—I know," He interrupted, gesturing towards the door. Pulling it open, he waved her inside a head of him, "I wouldn't have expected any less."

--

"Mommy?"

"Yeah baby?" Elizabeth was kneeling beside her son's bed, tucking the covers around his shoulders as he clutched his ragged stuffed puppy to his chest and watched his mother's every move with big, brown eyes.

"When's Jason gonna come over again?" Cameron asked quietly, hugging his toy a little tighter, "When can I see him again?"

"Soon sweetheart," Elizabeth promised, smoothing his riotous curls back from his face, "Soon." Placing a kiss on her son's forehead, she asked him, "You really like Jason don't you baby?"

Cameron nodded vigorously, a grin coming to play on his sweet little face, "Yeah. He plays bikes and trains, and he—he reads good books. I like Jason. Wanna keep him."

"You want to keep him?" Elizabeth chuckled as Cameron again nodded, "You miss him don't you?"

"Yeah," Cameron said wistfully, snuggling down in his covers, "When?"

"Soon baby, very soon," Kissing him good-night again, Elizabeth stood and walked to the door of her son's bedroom, flipping the switch to turn off the light, "Good-night baby."

"Night Momma," Cameron yawned, and as Elizabeth turned to leave the room, she heard her young son's voice whisper, "Wish we could keep him forever."

--

"Hey Jase, what're you up to?"

Carly Corinthos-Jax folded herself into a chair at the bar to the left of her best friend. He turned, still drinking his beer, straight from the bottle. But before he could answer, the woman in red beside him (whom Carly quickly decided was _not _a date; Jason _didn't_ date) answered for him,

"He's playing tourguide for me, being new in town and all."

"I see," Carly slung one leg over the other, "We met the other day right? Claudia, is it?"

"Yeah, and you're Carly," Claudia saluted with her glass before lifting it to her lips, "Nice place you got here. A regular hot-spot."

"Thank you," Carly preened, nudging Jason with an elbow as he remained silent, "What's up with you? You're quieter than usual."

"Lot on my mind," He answered simply, hoping to leave it at that. And while from the look in Carly's eye, she was going to doggedly pursue her line of questioning, he was saved as Claudia began to survey the crowd, giving her opinion without any kind of reserve.

"Who's the finely tailored grease-monkey?" Claudia asked over the rim of her glass. Carly sputtered into her drink while Jason followed their line of sight, then took a hearty pull from his beer to cover his reaction. Widening her eyes, Claudia gave a smug grin, "Opps."

Carly dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, "I was married to him y'know."

Jason nodded grimly, adding in a choked voice, "Four times."

"W—what?" Claudia exclaimed, gaping at Jason and Carly, then across the room at Sonny as she burst into robust laughter, "Why?"

Feeling as though he was being watched, Sonny looked over; finding Claudia's eyes on him. Realizing she'd been spotted, Claudia wriggled her fingers in a wave. Jason laid his forehead against his hand, while Carly snorted as she giggled.

--

He'd settled at the bar, a tumbler in his hand, looking around the casino and taking in his surroundings. It was a nice place, small, but nice. The lights were dimmed, the corners hazed in smoke from the cigars some patrons puffed at as they blew their money on card games. He ran his palm over the dark wood of the bar, liking the smoothness under his hand. Facing the wall behind the counter, he found the same rich coloring in the wood on the walls, a few paintings and prints distributed around the room for ambience. It was a nice place. Perhaps a little quaint, but the Haunted Star brought in a tidy bundle of profits at the end of each night, and lured everybody to its door; from dockworkers on a Friday night, to businessmen trying to schmooze their clients, to _businessmen_ who were schmoozing another type of clientele entirely.

All in all, he liked it. And as it had received his stamp of approval, the Haunted Star would soon be making him a tidy profit as well.

"Do you know what a little birdie told me?"

Sipping his drink leisurely before turning, Johnny found Lulu Spencer leaning against the bar, a Cheshire cat grin on her face, "What'd you hear?"

"My dad says that you're thinking about buying into this place," Lulu shook her hair over her shoulder, leaning in so she could get closer to John.

"Did he now?" Johnny evaded, while taking another sip of his drink. He hadn't touched anything alcoholic yet, but if this oh-so-witty conversation was going to last, he might just have to. Lulu Spencer was a one-time thing. A night, maybe two. Just a little bit of fun and then move on. There was no way he would ever think of something serious with this girl. Not after he'd walked into this very bar not two weeks ago and discovered her with Maxie Jones, the two making a bet over the roulette table on which got to date him. He'd spent years, nearly his entire life, having his father decide and arbitrarily control his every move, every step, every decision; he wouldn't let some blonde strumpet continue the cycle. Just listening to her talk made him wonder why the greatSpencer name was supposed to inspire such legend. He hadn't seen anything worthy of the title from any of them so far. The patriarch, Luke, was always running away from his problems; never actually facing a thing as he mooched off whatever woman was careless enough to end up linked to him. The son, Lucky, while oddly named, was a bumbling and half-assed police officer, and as far as John could see, hadn't actually solved a crime in his career. And then there was Lulu, who flitted through life much like her father, expecting everyone and anyone to fall in line because she was the daughter of _Luke and Laura_, which meant she was all kinds of 

special, "It's a good investment. Trevor says that something like this could really diversify the family portfolio."

"Really," Johnny could tell her interest in that particular piece of information was phony, "So that explains his interest, but you know what I think?"

He couldn't wait to hear, "What?"

"I think that you're investing in the Haunted Star because," She paused, leaning closer again to lay a hand on his arm, drawing her fingers up and down the corded muscles lightly, "Because you want to be close to me."

"What gives you that impression?" He too leaned in; cocking his head to one side so their faces didn't exactly meet, but were close enough. Maybe he'd have that little bit of fun with Special Little Lulu.

"We had fun, that night you picked me up," She smiled sultrily; probably believing their little 'flirtation' was going somewhere, "We could have fun again. What'd you say?"

"I say," He paused, this time inclining his head in the other direction so that their faces met head on. They were nearly nose-to-nose. Lulu pushed her puckered lips forward as her eyes slid closed; feeling with absolute certainty that he was about to kiss her. She could feel his breath fanning over her face. _He was going to kiss her_.

As the entry-way doors slid open, Johnny's face folded into a grin. He looked once more at Lulu's awaiting pucker, and pulled his face away. He had her _right_ where he wanted her.

"Hey Nadine! Nadine, over here!"

The blonde in purple turned, and Johnny was taken aback as she faced him. Loosely curled ringlets framed her face; slight and neutral make up highlighted her blue eyes and pale skin. The dark purple 

dress she wore cut her at the knees, and the sweetheart neckline modestly emphasized her bust. As her gaze lighted on him, she broke into a grin and started making her way in his direction.

"Johnny, hey," Unceremoniously, she lifted a handful of curls from her face, "I got your message. I-uh-I-am I dressed okay?" She extended a hand to either side of her slim skirt, "Because I know that the Haunted Star is a fancy, dressy kind of place, but I-uh-I-I don't really have all that many really, you know, dressy clothes, so I really hope that I-"

"Shh," Johnny pressed his fingertip to her lips, her eyes drawn downward to see his forefinger cut off her ramblings, "You look amazing."

"Really?" Her eyes sparkled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," He grinned, then snagged a cocktail from a tray carried by a passing waiter, "Drink?"

"Oh, no thanks," Nadine waved a hand, before planting the other at her waist, "Too many of those, and I end up teetering all over the place, waving my hands ever so emphatically, and mindlessly quoting Aunt Rayleen."

"I like," He began, pressing the drink into her hand, "Aunt Rayleen."

"I'll be sure to tell her," Nadine snickered, cautiously sipping the pink liquid in the glass she'd been handed, "This place is amazing."

By this time, Lulu had removed herself from her puckered lip, cartoon character stance; and crossing her arms over her middle, sauntered to Nadine and Johnny who were chuckling at their own, sad joke.

"Yeah," Lulu smiled smugly, "This place is my dad's baby. A true Spencer family treasure."

_If it's a Spencer family treasure, it's the only one, _Johnny thought, but remained silent.

"Wow," Nadine appeared genuinely impressed, "That's really amazing."

"Dad really puts his heart and soul into this place," Lulu boasted gleefully.

"And, apparently, all his liquor too," Johnny muttered, only to be cuffed in the chest, his petite blonde friend admonishing,

"Johnny."

He laughed, and then threw his arm over her small shoulders, "C'mon, I'll show you how to play roulette. Because you, my friend, are far too wholesome."

"Me?" Nadine asked, pointing to herself.

"Yeah you," He replied seriously.

"You know what pretty boy?" Nadine stopped and turned, poking him in the chest. He raised his eyebrows as he waited for her to finish, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

Staring her off again, he smirked, "Oh really?"

"Really," She affirmed with a smirk of her own. Letting him lead her away, she called over her shoulder, "See you later Lulu."

"Bye," Lulu returned, though they had already been swallowed up by the crowd and were no longer in earshot. She drew in a heavy breath, watching Johnny drape his arm around the nurse and demonstrate 

how to spin the roulette wheel. It should be _her_. Lulu was definitive as she mentally prepared herself for her eventual victory; _it would be her_.

--

"Me and-" She pointed at Sonny, "Ew. I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole," With that resounding statement, Claudia wore her cat-cleaning-the-canary-out-of-her-teeth-grin, and turned to Carly, "So tell me. Is he short _all _over?"

Jason squeezed his eyes shut before pounding back the last few mouthfuls of his beer, "I'm out of here."

"Weenie," Claudia shrugged, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

He held off a tremor, "I really don't want to have to bail you two out of the PCPD tonight."

"Lighten up Jason" Carly gave a one-shouldered shrug, "We're just having a little fun."

"Yeah Jase. Besides, we've got lawyers," Claudia agreed, "When you're this tense you suck the fun out of everything."

Pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off the surely impending headache; Jason slipped from the stool, and threw his jacket around his shoulders. He realized then that such headaches would be plentiful if, god forbid, Carly and Claudia were to befriend each other. He headed for the exit, nodding to the security guard who offered him a quick greeting as he passed. He was nearly to the door of the hotel, literally about to step from the building when he heard a voice call him back.

"Jason. Man, hold on a minute."

_Damn it._ He'd nearly made it out unscathed.

"What Sonny?" Jason bit out frostily, "I'd rather not be a standing target if you want to practice your aim again."

For once, Sonny looked something close to contrite, and while Jason would have liked to hope his _partner_ was there to apologize for his earlier behavior, he _was _a logical thinker.

"Listen, Jason, I shouldn't have thrown the glass," Characteristically, Sonny cocked his head to one side, rubbing at his forehead with one hand while planting the other on his hip, "I lost my temper, and that shouldn't have happened."

"Good," Jason nodded, releasing a pent-up breath, "Okay."

"But, y'know, man you shouldn't have disrespected me like that," Sonny switched it up so that both hands were firmly tucked onto his hips, "We've known each other for a long time, and you should know how little I can take of that kind of disrespect."

Jason could almost hear himself spouting; _apology, my ass_; but managed to refrain, "Seriously Sonny? Because I've taken it from you for years. But that fact doesn't seem to matter, unless you need me for something."

"Look, Jason," Sonny declared, frustrated. He'd expected Jason to fall into line, do as told like he should. But over the past few months especially, it was like something had gotten into him, and the loyal, obedient employee Jason had been had been replaced by someone who constantly questioned his orders, "This just needs to be dropped. You need to drop it. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you Sonny," Jason once again gritted his teeth, and pushed by the man for the second time that day, "Loud. And. Clear."

--

It had been another long day in a long list of long days. The kids had been difficult first thing in the morning, she'd had to stay over on her shift at the hospital; which meant that the boys had to stay late at daycare, so they were cranky when she picked them up. Jake had been a terror to settle down, and that left her even more frustrated, as usually he had his father's temperament; quiet and long-suffering. But tonight he'd been on a marathon of fighting dinner, fighting bath time, and fighting bed time. And Cameron's questions just made the huge missing piece in their lives all the more apparent and gaping.

She missed her husband. She wanted him beside her right now, helping her undress, listening to her rant about the crazy, everyday antics of the residents of General Hospital. She wanted his arms wrapped around her as they crawled into bed, her head cushioned on his shoulder, his breathing soothing her to sleep. She wanted to smooth the worry lines from his face, and to listen to him talk about his day. She wanted to see him with the boys; reading the travels books they both loved to Cameron, and bouncing Jake in his lap as his son screamed with laughter. She wanted her family all together, under one roof. The boys needed their father, and Elizabeth needed her husband. And he needed them. This easing into a full-blown family situation they were slowly working towards was pure torture.

She rolled over in her too-large for one person bed, wrapped her arms tightly around her pillow and sighed heavily. There wasn't much she could do about this at the exact moment. Which made her even more disheartened.

The blinking red light from her cell phone drew her attention in the dark room. Picking it up from where it lay on the nightstand, she flipped the cell phone open, finding a new message left for her.

"_Hey baby, it's me. Just wanted to check in, hear how your day went. Things—things were a little rough on my end, and I guess—I guess I just wanted to hear your voice. Give the boys a hug and a kiss for me. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you." _

_I love you too_. Elizabeth sighed again, and clutching her pillow and her cell phone, she curled into a ball and listened to the message again. _I love you too_.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Nintendo or Super Mario Bros. Or General Hospital. Or, anything really.

Thanks to those who read and replied. It feeds my muse. Who has a voracious appetite.

This chapter is un-beta-ed, so I really hope I haven't missed any mistakes/typos.

--

"Fancy meeting you all here," Claudia Zacchara halted her morning jog through the park as she spotted the vigorous progression of a few of those in the small city she was acquainted with, "Where are you three, highly attractive male specimens headed this morning?"

Max yanked at his collar; Milo blushed and preened at her words; and Jason answered briskly, "Shortcut, the office is on the other side of the park."

"I see," Claudia reached in with a smile to adjust Milo's tie after watching the younger man struggle with it for a few moments, "There you go hon."

"Th-th-thank you," Milo managed to stutter out, stroking his tie down his dress shirt covered front; while Max discreetly cuffed him in the arm, shaking his head at his overeager younger brother, "Would-would you perhaps like t-t-to walk along with us? I'm sure," He paused, looking over at Jason's stoic face and statuesque posture, "I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind," Again, he glanced from Claudia's decidedly low-cut tank top to his employer, who watched Milo with a raised eyebrow, "Would you sir?"

"Yeah, would you? Sir?" Claudia teased, flipping her hair over her shoulder and sending a mocking grin in Jason's direction before changing her focus back to Milo, replying in a voice so sickly sweet, Jason felt ill, "Sure hon, I'll walk a ways with you." She topped it off with an over-bright smile, and Jason couldn't help but raise his hand to rub his forehead. It was too early in the morning for this.

"Let's get on with it then," He grumbled, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets.

"Oh, hey, give me a second, I want to find out what John's doing out here," Claudia paused, turning in the direction of the dark haired young man who stood about ten yards away with his back to them, "Hey! Johnny! C'mere!"

The dark haired man turned, and after quickly pointing at himself, he jogged over to join the group. It was as he neared that Claudia realized that she hadn't called out to her little brother. Instead, a young man with similar features, similar dark hair; though he wore it longer and floppier; and a beanie atop his head, skidded to a stop in front of them.

"To what does the Jackal owe the beckoning of the astoundingly bodacious Vixenella?" The newcomer asked, and Claudia was clearly baffled, muttering,

"You're not Johnny."

"No, indeed, it is I, the Jackal, the grasshopper to Stone Cold's master, the ace of cyberspace," The funny, floppy haired kid rattled off, "What is it that you herald by?"

"Spinelli," Jason stepped between them, waving a hand from _the Jackal_ to Claudia, "This is Claudia Zacchara. Claudia, this is Damien Spinelli."

"Hi," Claudia muttered, still inspecting Spinelli's face, while Spinelli began to hyperventilate as he babbled about yet another denizen of darkness darkening the shores of their fair city. Jason had to finally wave a hand in front of the kid's face and clap him on the shoulder to catch his attention,

"Spinelli focus here. Claudia is a business associate. She isn't evil, completely, and she isn't going to chase you around with a fireplace poker," While _the Jackal_ shuddered at the memory, Jason turned to Claudia, a definitive tone to his voice, "Is she?"

"Business associate?" The eldest Zacchara sibling gave him a pointed look, "I'd at least call you a _friend_ Morgan."

"Alright, _friend_ then," He amended, a hand still clamped on his young friend's shoulder, "Spinelli? You still in there?"

"Are you sure you're little, whatever he is, is alright?" Claudia questioned, leaning in and looking at Spinelli's nervous expression, "He seems a little excitable. Like a Chihuahua."

"A Chihuahua?" Spinelli huffed, ripe with indignation, "The Jackal resents that comparison from the deepest recesses of his very soul. The Jackal may not possess the manly strength, ripped physique, and steely glare that Stone Cold embodies, but he-that is-I am by no means a lowly purse-habitating, yippy, knitted sweater wearing mongrel."

Max managed to fight off the laugh that was threatening his composure, but Milo wasn't so lucky; his escaping in a high-pitched snort. Claudia sniggered at the clearly offended speech, "Stone Cold has to be you right?"

Jason nodded, "Yeah." But before he could begin the probable long task of reassuring Spinelli he did not resemble such a creature as a Chihuahua, Claudia reached out, and trailed her fingertips down _the Jackal's _clean shaven cheek,

"I like him. He's cute."

"Oh no," Jason didn't like the amused look in Claudia's eye, nor the nervously interested one in Spinelli's, "The kid is _off limits_. Especially to you. Got it?"

"Oh, come on now Jason," Claudia replied sweetly, not pulling her hand back from Spinelli's face until the last second, "I won't hurt him."

A disjointed, hack of a giggle emerged from Spinelli, and Jason used the grip he'd kept on the boy's shoulder to yank him back to his side, "_Off limits_."

"_Fine_," Claudia groused, while Spinelli looked disappointed, "He resembles John far too much for that anyway. That would just be creepy."

--

"This seat taken?"

Elizabeth looked up from her lunch to find Robin standing beside one of the empty chairs at her table. The doctor was leaning, with one hand on the rounded top of the straight backed chair; the other on the top of her rounded belly, "Go ahead."

Her smile felt forced, and she hoped that didn't show through. She'd gone to Kelly's for her lunch break today to have a few moments of peace to herself. She liked Robin; the other woman was her friend. But lately all Robin seemed to want to do was hook her up with the new 'hot-doc', and Elizabeth couldn't get through to her that she wasn't interested. It was as if Robin wasn't listening, and had made it her mission to _find Elizabeth a man_. Too bad all her efforts were for naught.

Robin lowered herself to the chair's seat, still rubbing her hand over her belly, and sighed, "Ahhh. That feels better."

"Long day on your feet?" Elizabeth asked in a knowing voice.

"Yes," Robin sighed again, "But don't say anything to Patrick, or he'll go to Doctor Ford and have me put on leave or something else equally crazy because he thinks he knows what's best for me. I know what I'm doing. I can take care of myself and this little one."

Elizabeth forked up a bit of her eggs (She'd had an odd craving for Huevos Rancheros and Mike had been kind enough not to say anything.) and took a drink before she attempted in answering that particular statement. That territory was marked _tread lightly_ lately, "Just remember that you don't have to do it alone. You've got Patrick, who's going to be a great father."

"Yeah," It seemed Robin was in a good mood about the subject because a smile pulled the corners of her lips upward and she twirled the plastic flower in the ceramic vase in the middle of the table, "I'm lucky. And it's part of the reason why I think I admire you so much."

"Admire me? Seriously?" Elizabeth blushed, pushing the remainder of her lunch around on her plate, wincing slightly when the tines of the fork scrapped lightly on the plate, "I'm just an ordinary mom, nothing special with me."

Robin shook her head, smiling, "See? You're so modest about it, but you're raising two kids all by yourself, and doing a great job, by the way."

"Thanks," The blush grew stronger, and Elizabeth ducked her head, covering her embarrassment with wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"Can I just ask you one tiny little question though?" Here it comes, Elizabeth was sure. She and Robin hadn't had a conversation lately, excluding patient care thankfully, that Robin hadn't managed to stick in a plug for her new pick, "Just one."

She knew she was going to regret this, but Elizabeth replied cautiously, "Sure."

"I see you and Jason hanging out sometimes," Robin began innocently, "And he stops by the hospital, and you go out with Nadine and Kelly and me, but do you ever think that maybe, you need more than just friends in your life? Do you ever get lonely?"

--

"Long time no see stranger," She stuck a hand in her back jeans pocket, "Feel like company?"

"Of course, of course," Spinelli opened the penthouse door to find a smiling Nadine on the other side. He ushered her inside, then closed the door behind her, "Welcome. And what brings the Noble Nurse Nadine to the Jackal's abode?"

"Well," Nadine slipped her jacket off her arms and hung it over the back of the desk chair, "I haven't seen you in a while and I thought I would come by and see if you'd zonked out on your keyboard beneath a mound of," She laughed as she gestured to the exact items, "Orange soda bottles and BBQ chip bags."

Spinelli, too, had to grin as he jumped to sweep away the offending bottle and bag collection, "Ah, no. Stone Cold and the Fair Maximista would not let me become buried. One of them would surely roust me before I was swallowed up."

"True," Nadine agreed, leaning her hands against the stuffed top of the armchair, "Jason must be keeping you really busy," She observed. As Spinelli looked about to speak, she added, "I know you can't talk about what you do for Jason. Just be careful, okay?"

"Okay," Spinelli agreed, gathering the last of his junk food garbage and dumping it in the can, "Thank you for not pressing. While I appreciate all that comes with the Fair Maximista's attentions, she does press for internal details of Stone Cold's, ahem, business, and it is becoming increasingly difficult not to disclose them to her."

"The Fair Maximista huh?" Nadine teased, knowing her friend's affinity for the outgoing blonde.

Spinelli groaned before his legs seemed to go to liquid and he collapsed to the couch, "You too can see the Jackal's plight! My affections for Maxie are as plain as the," He stalled, seeming to run out of metaphors.

"Nose on your face?" Nadine suggested an old standard.

"Yes!" And he was off again, "My affections are as plain to the world as the delicate nose on her beautiful face, but to Maxie, I am simply the friend, and am doomed to remain so."

"Aw, Spinelli," She sympathized, sitting beside her crumpled friend on the sofa, giving his shoulder a one-handed squeeze, "I know Maxie cares about you."

"Oh yes, Maximista _cares_," Spinelli rubbed his face before using both hands to sweep his wayward locks to one side of his face, "Maximista reminds me daily of that. By why can't she see?" He imploringly asked, his face adorably lost, "Why can't the Fair Maximista see that I hold the deepest, fullest devotion for her? But alas, the Jackal will be forever regulated to the _friend_ denomination and will be forced to watch helplessly while some slick, nattily attired, Fredrico comes along and sweeps my Fair Maximista off her feet and whisks her far away from my sight."

Nadine patted her friend's back again, "I'm sorry Spinelli. I wish I could tell you what to do, but you can't force something like this. Either it happens or it doesn't."

"Sage counsel dear friend," Spinelli grimly agrees, "And how do you fare?"

"It's weird, you know," She began, thinking back to the first time she'd met her newest _friend_, "When you first meet someone, and you expect them to be all one way, and they are totally not what you expected at all."

"Ah," The Jackal observed with a sly grin, "You are speaking of the Dark Prince Zacchara."

--

"Morgan," Jason answered his cell blandly, wedging it between his shoulder and his ear as he reached across the desk for the contracts Diane was holding for him to sign.

"Jason?"

The childish voice startled him enough to have him waving away the contracts and sinking down into his chair, "Cameron? Hey buddy, what's going on?"

"Jakey took my Puppy and he won't give it back. And Gram's is mad at me 'cuz I broked her vase. An-and Mommy's all sad, and Jakey's no fun an-and Billy at daycare sat on my cupcake today. On purpose."

"On purpose?" Jason asked, though part of him was stuck on _Mommy's all sad_. He listened carefully to his boy's chatter; inserting a comment where a break in the boy's rambles called for it. The non-stop flow of words from Cameron made a smile grow on his face. _Cam was so much like his mother._

Diane smiled as she watched Jason's phone call with his son. She was one of the few that knew about the relationship, having been the one to quietly handle the adoption process. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he heard the childish voice on the other line, and as he chatted about Billy from daycare squashing Cameron's cupcake; a rare smile graced her employer's handsome face. She encased the contracts she'd brought him to look over in a file folder and set it a top the desk. Jason looked up and offered a small, lopsided, grateful smile as Diane nodded, and slowly backed out of the office.

"Jason?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"I miss you. When are you comin' home?"

His chest felt like it was being squeezed in a vise till the point his heart would break at his child's wistful voice, "I miss you too little man. I'll see you soon okay?"

There was a pause, and then a small voice asked, "Promise?"

"Promise Cameron," Jason replied definitely, not going to join the ranks of those who'd made promises to the little boy and broken them, letting the child slide through the cracks, "I love you son."

"Love you too Daddy."

--

Spinelli once again abandoned his fruitless virtual pursuit to answer the door. Clearly, Casa de Stone Cold was buzzing with activity today. But upon opening the door, Spinelli was stunned to find the _Septic Son_ waiting in the Harborview Towers hallway.

"Hi," His visitor began, and Spinelli curtly responded,

"Hello."

"You mind if I come in?" Johnny asked, gesturing toward the inside of the apartment.

While it looked like Spinelli was mentally arguing with himself, he eventually stepped aside and allowed Johnny to enter, "Stone Cold is not presently on the premise, but be forewarned, I, the Jackal, am fully capable of protecting this sanctuary if need be."

"Look man," Johnny held up a hand, palm forward, hoping to ward off another of Spinelli's rambling tangents, "I'm not here for some covert reconnaissance mission. I didn't come here to snoop through Jason's place."

Spinelli's brow creased as he narrowed his eyes, trying to imitate a _Stone Cold Stare_, "Then what, pray tell, is the reason for your appearance here?" He crossed his arms and perched on the arm of the chair.

Johnny inhaled deeply, holding it in before releasing it slowly, "I heard you the other day, telling Maxie about the Nintendo you found at the flea market."

"While the system is a true find, some may even say a classic," Spinelli pointed an accusatory finger, "Eavesdropper!"

Johnny rolled his eyes, "I thought that you'd want to play a classic game on your classic system." From his jacket pocket, he then produced a rectangular cartridge, the once bright and colorful label worn and faded.

"Super Mario Brothers!" Spinelli exclaimed, leaping from his seat to grasp the offered game, "An oldie, but a goodie. Where did you get it?"

"It's mine," Johnny grinned, losing a bit of stiffness he'd held since entering the apartment, "I had it when I was a kid."

Spinelli looked up befuddled, "If it's a treasure from childhood, why offer it to me?" He glanced from the game to his visitor once again, "Is it going to blow up or something?"

"No!" Johnny slid a hand across his forehead, before pinching the bridge of his nose for a second, "It's nothing like that Spinelli."

"Then why are you coming here, and offering me a game, which I could very well already have?"

"If you don't want it, then give the damn thing back!" Johnny burst out in frustration, holding his hand out for the game, and Spinelli peered at the other man with an oddly understanding look on his face,

"Are you okay?'

Johnny hauled in three deep breaths through his nose before he even tried to reply, "I've spent my whole life in that house. Nobody wanted to be friends with Anthony Zacchara's kid. And even if they did, whose parents in their right minds would let them? I had Claudia, but then Trevor and my father shipped her off, and it was just me. I can't make friends. It's not that I won't, it's that I can't. But you know my father. You've seen him, and you know he's insane, and," He stopped, heaved a heavy sigh, girded his mental loins and continued, "And you and Nadine, you guys are different," He shrugged, "I was hoping we could hang out."

--

Awaiting the order they'd called in nearly forty-five minutes before, Max drummed his large fingers on the counter at Kelly's, leaning his chin in his opposite palm. He was staring off into space, and didn't notice the odd look he was receiving.

"Stop that," Jason ordered, shaking his head, "What are you doing?"

Max gave a breathy sigh, his beefy shoulders lifting as he inhaled, and then sagged on exhale, "Nothin'."

Jason shook his head again, knowing the reason for his friend's sappy behavior, "You're thinking about Diane aren't you?"

"Yeah," A dopey, affected smile held the bodyguard's face and Jason couldn't miss the opportunity,

"Has Diane met Claudia yet?"

"What?" Max was stunned from his stupor, "Why would Diane meet Claudia?" An odd, devious grin slowly curled the corners of Jason's lips, "Don't man. Just don't."

"What?" He leaned back on his stool, waving a hand in Max's direction, "Why would I tell Diane about you slobbering all over another woman?"

"Jason, seriously," Quickly becoming agitated, Max would probably have done just about anything for Jason to remain silent, "You can't tell Diane-"

"He can't tell me what?" Her voice floated over their shoulders, and instantly Max was a shade of purple Jason hadn't known existed, "What is it that you two are conspiring?" Leaning her head between both of theirs, she intoned in a whisper, "Because I seriously doubt either of you would be obtuse enough to discuss hypotheticals _here_."

"Of course not," Max blustered, clumsily tipping over his take-out coffee cup in an attempt to turn himself around in his chair, succeeding only in spilling it all over the sleeve of his dress shirt and sending it flying over the counter to the floor.

"Max!" Diane exclaimed, making a little hop backwards so the splash would miss her shoes, "While I have all the respect and admiration for an eager man, _these_," She extended one foot so they could see her shoes, and Jason couldn't help but wonder how the hell she managed to walk normally in them, "Are loaners."

The two slipped into some kind of softly murmured conversation, one alternately chuckling, and Jason had to look away. Besides the fact he felt like he was intruding, it made him think about Elizabeth, and all that they had, but couldn't express. Everything was hidden away. And while sometimes he could convince himself that they were just saving it all for themselves, that their relationship, for once, wasn't for public consumption, he found himself impatient for the day he could simply kiss his wife, wherever, whenever he so chose.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

This chapter is mostly Liason, with an appearance by Sonny, a little of Nikolas and Nadine and the clinic, and a smidgen of Spinelli and the Scorpios for contrast.

This chapter is un-beta-ed, so I apologize for any mistakes/typos.

--

Jason was tired; dragging tired, and just wanted a few moments of peace and quiet. He'd managed to have minimal contact with Sonny for the past few days, but he'd still been the one to referee whatever issues had arose, deal with the normal, day-to-day craziness, the worker disputes, the paperwork, the schedules, and even more. Turning the key in the lock, he wondered when the last time he'd seen Sonny at the warehouse was. It had been a long time since his _partner_ had managed to show up, managed to let go of being _Mr. Kate Howard_ long enough for something as insignificant as _work_.

"Surprise."

The exhaustion drained from his system as he glimpsed his wife coming into the room, slipping from the kitchen and straight into his arms. A soft huff of breath slipped from him as he pulled her flush against him, "Hey."

She clung to him, squeezing her arms around him, rubbing her face against his chest and inhaling deeply. Long, delicious moments passed before they came apart, their breathing ragged. Smoothing a bit of lipstick from his mouth with her thumb, Elizabeth smiled, "I let myself in. Spinelli was here earlier, but he kind of bolted when he found out I wanted to talk to you."

Jason chuckled, combing his fingers through her hair, relishing the feel of the silky strands between his fingers, "He's a little nervous."

"He wants you to be happy," Elizabeth framed her husband's face between her hands, stroking along his cheekbones with her thumbs, "Are you happy Jason?"

"I miss you" He replied huskily, covering her hands with his own, "I miss you and Cameron and Jake. I can't be happy when I'm not with you."

"I miss you too," She breathed headily, "All the time. Cameron asks when he's going to see you again, and I find myself counting the seconds until we do."

He inclined his head until their foreheads met; her hand still on his face, his hands still clasped around hers.

"I've all ready missed so much of their lives," He stated, guilt lacing his voice, "Both of them, they're growing up so fast, and I have missed so many moments and milestones with them."

"They know you love them, that you want to be there even when you're not," She rushed to reassure him, nuzzling her nose against his.

"It's not enough that I want to," Jason's grey gaze bore into hers, "I _should_ be. I should be there, with them, through everything. I should be there for them," He paused, breaking the stare and tipping his head back to press a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.

She couldn't believe it. She _could_ believe it, but she had held that hope at bay. They'd worked so long and hard at this; spent many long, lonely, and emotionally exhausting hours trying to do what was right. What was right for their boys, what was right for their _family_. But what if what was right had been what they'd both been longing for all this time? "Jason, are you-"

This time, the kiss connected their mouths, cutting off her question and she clung to him, both feeling as if something had changed, and what they had long dreamt of was on the precise of becoming a reality, "I love you and the boys. And I know that we were taking this excruciating slow because another upheaval was the last thing that Cam needed, after Lucky disappeared and Emily," The scarring hole his sister's death had left still, and would always, give him pause, "But I-I need my sons. Everyday. Not just a few hours here and there. _Everyday_. And I need their mother too," A tearful smile came over his face, and her eyes were misted with tears as he stressed again, "Everyday. You and Cameron and Jake; you're my family. And there's no way I'm going to hide it anymore," His fingers dove into the front of her v-neckline, drawing up the wedding band on the chain nestled between her breasts. Their eyes were glued to each other's as he gently unclasped the chain, and unthreaded the ring from it. Tears spilled onto both of their smiling faces as he lifted her hand between them, and resolutely placed the ring, the very symbol of all he'd promised her, on her finger. It gleamed there, for anyone to see. Where, he would admit, it should have been all along, "Everyday."

Her eyes never left his as the tears streamed down her face, as she too, drew the chain from around his neck. Bringing the ring from the chain, she slipped it onto his finger, before drawing his hand to her face, and leaning her cheek against his palm, "Everyday," She echoed softly.

Licking his suddenly very dry lips, Jason brushed away her tears with his fingertips, only breaking their gaze at the last second to smother the hand that now bore his ring in soft, delicate, barely-there kisses. She watched him, fascinated, as his mouth travelled from her wrist; over her forearm, to the sensitive skin inside her elbow, until she could no longer bear it, pleading with a word, "Jason."

His face once again came up to meet hers, and their breaths mingled as one. His voice rasped, "Everyday," A final time before their mouths fused together with a passionate hunger neither could have ever predicted.

Article of clothing were scattered along the staircase as they staggered to _their_ room, their dueling mouths and tongues never parting any longer than it took to rid one party or the other of an offensive, binding piece of clothing. Together they collapsed in a tangled sprawl of arms and legs. Pushing him onto his back, Elizabeth threw a leg over each of his hips, effectively straddling her husband as she teased her way up his torso, using her mouth along his stomach and chest, smiling against his skin as the breath shuddered in and out of his large body. She drew a bit of skin under his jaw into her mouth, lightly marking it with her teeth, as if branding him as her own. He stiffened, his hands coming up from their own roaming to wind in her hair.

"Everyday," She hissed before sealing her mouth to his and letting his skillful touch promise her the forever they both craved.

--

"Hey you."

Nadine found her corner suddenly quite crowded as Nikolas Cassadine stepped up behind her.

"Hello Nikolas," She smiled brightly as he swept her hair from her shoulder, tickling the side of her neck, so he could read whatever she was scribbling down.

"What are you working on so diligently over here?"

"Just keeping up with inventory, order forms," Nadine shuffled her papers into a pile before attaching them to her clipboard, "Making sure out supplies are all fully stocked."

"That's very conscientious of you," Nikolas teased, fitting his arms together as he crossed them, creating a rather imposing looking statue.

Except Nadine saw past it, giggling as she playfully slapped him in the arm with her clipboard as she slipped past him into the filled waiting-area of the clinic, "Mr. Henderson? You can come on into Exam Room Three, and the doctor will be in to see you in just a few minutes."

An elderly man and his wife stood and the two carefully made their way to the smiling Nadine, "Thank you dear. You've been so helpful."

"It's my pleasure Mr. Henderson," Nadine extended an arm to direct the approaching couple, "If you'll just follow me, I'll show you the way back."

"I'd follow you anywhere darlin'," Mr. Henderson shuffled forward, his cane aiding his procession. Before he disappeared around the corner, he threw a conspiratory wink in Nikolas' direction before grinning and calling after Nadine, "I'd follow you _any_where darlin'."

Nikolas chuckled to himself before looking up to see the old man's wife smiling at him with a knowing look on her regal, wrinkled face.

"Your young lady," Mrs. Henderson began, "She's really something."

"Yes, she is," Nikolas agreed, not denying the _your_, and not realizing that he'd just confirmed his proprietary notions about Nadine in the old woman's mind.

"She helped us with these forms, explained my Peter's operation. You see, he's got to have gall stones removed, and that nurse, your young lady," The _your_ brought a twinkle to Mrs. Henderson's eye as she spoke, "She explained it all so much better than that doctor of his, who, between you and me?" The elderly lady motioned for Nikolas to lean closer, and when he did, she spoke in a stage whisper, "That doctor spends far too much time in his own all-important company, and not enough time with people like your pretty girl. If you ask me, every man needs a pretty girl like her. Helps keep their heads on straight. But that girl, she cleared up any of my Peter's worries some quick. You better hang onto her with both hands son. That girl is a keeper," Mrs. Henderson waved a pointer finger at him as she made her speech, gripping the counter as she made her way across the floor. Noticing her unsteadiness, Nikolas offered the woman his arm, and she blushed like a schoolgirl as she threaded her arm through his.

Nadine appeared as they made their way to the exam room, and a soft smile fell over her face as she caught sight of them.

As they arrived at the exam room door, Mrs. Henderson retrieved her arm and patted Nikolas' affectionately, "You remember what I said son. You take good care of her. You hear?"

"Of course," Nikolas acquiesced with a dip of his head and the blush returned to Mrs. Henderson's cheeks.

"Nikolas?" Nadine began, as with a hand at the small of her back, he led her away and back to the clinic's main room.

"Yes?" He replied thoughtfully.

"What was Mrs. Henderson talking about?" She asked as they reached the counter.

"Oh, um," He let his hand linger at her back a few moments longer than necessary. Pulling away, he expertly evaded,

"She was just giving her approval of the clinic, how it's being run. The attentiveness of our staff, that's all."

"Oh," Nadine nodded, retrieving her clipboard, "Rave reviews are always good."

"They are," He agreed as she started to walk away, "Nadine."

"Yeah?" She turned back to face him, and almost caught the uncertainty that flashed over his features.

"How would you like to come out to Wyndemere tonight? Go for a ride; and you know," He suggested, leaning both forearms on the counter, "You never did make good on your offer to make me dinner."

"You're right," She acknowledged, pursing her lips to cover a grin, "Okay, I'd love a ride, and if you think that your royally spoiled taste buds can handle my commoner's cooking, then I'll be there."

"Then it's a date," Nikolas chuckled at her teasing.

"Yeah, it is," Nadine affirmed, then gathered a pile of charts and set to work, smiling to herself.

Nikolas smirked to himself, hearing Mrs. Henderson's wise words repeating in his head.

_You better hang onto her with both hands son. That girl is a keeper_.

--

She awoke slowly, stretching languidly for as she reached for her husband. Instead she found an empty, rapidly cooling space on the mattress where he'd been. She pressed her face into his pillow, deeply inhaling the scent she'd always associated with him. Old leather, the tang of a woodsy soap, and a musk that was entirely him. She loved that smell.

Reluctantly she slipped from the bed, and drawing on her robe, went in search of him.

She didn't have to look far, as she found him seated on the couch, his back to her. His forearms were balanced on his thighs as he scrubbed his face with his hands.

"Jason? Honey what is it?"

He looked up, his eyes brightening as he saw her. He extended an arm to her, and it took her no time to cross to him. She curled into his side, and in a somber motion that worried her a bit, he drew his free hand over his jaw.

" 'Lizabeth, there was trouble at the warehouse this afternoon."

"Oh," Elizabeth pulled her head from where it rested against him, "Do you have to go?"

"No," Jason tugged her tight against him again, "It's all been handled."

"But you're worried," She observed, reaching up to smooth a fingertip over the frown lines on his face, "Can you talk about it?"

He swallowed hard. He'd just heard from Max, whom he'd sent to do rounds of the warehouse after Sonny had refused to see reason. It had turned out that his hunch had not been unfounded.

Max had discovered Doctor Ian Devlin hidden behind piles of bags. Devlin's intent had been clear, but no one had been injured. Sonny, Michael, Kate and the warehouse workers all remained blissfully unawares.

It had been far too close. If Max and Milo hadn't made their sweep; Devlin wouldn't have been found, and all hell would have broken loose.

Sonny was slipping, dangerously so. He'd taken Michael, unguarded, to that warehouse, with the appropriate precautions. The consequences of Sonny's negligent decisions could have been deadly. Something had to be done, Sonny wasn't thinking. _Michael had been in that warehouse._

His face turned introspective, and Elizabeth felt a frightening churning in her gut. What if he was deciding to keep their relationship, their family a secret? Or worse, what if he had decided to cut ties with her and their sons for _their safety_?

"Jason?"

"Hmmm?" He replied absently, his mind stuck on scenarios and what would have to be done with Ian Devlin, and other such matters permeated by _business_.

"You're not thinking of backing out are you?" Elizabeth bit her lip to keep herself from speaking, but instead her nervous rambling broke through like a raging river through a shoddy dam, "Because I won't let you, you know. I won't let you push me and the boys away because you want to _protect_ us from your business. We're your family Jason; you're my husband, and you're Cameron and Jake's father. So if you think you're going to push us away because you don't think you're worthy of having a family that loves you, you're crazy. And you're even crazier if you think that I'll give you a divorce, because there is no way in _hell_ that I will!" Her chest heaved as she breathed raggedly at the finale of her frightened speech.

"Whoa, whoa, Elizabeth slow down," Jason reached out, and took his wife's small hands in his, squeezing gently, "Who said anything about a divorce?"

"I-I-I," Elizabeth stuttered, staring down at their joined hands and running her thumb over the wedding band he now wore prominently on his left hand ring finger, "I don't know, I just was afraid that you were going to start pulling away because it was too dangerous. I don't want to lose you Jason. I won't."

"Hey," Pulling one of his hands back, he took her chin in his palm and tenderly turned her face to meet his, "Look at me 'Lizabeth," He waited until she did before he would continue, "Now listen carefully to me. You're my wife, I'm proud of that. And yeah, I may not be the best at sharing how I'm feeling but you have to know Elizabeth, that you're never getting rid of me. Do you hear me? I meant what I said a couple of hours ago, I'm not going to back out. I love you too much to walk away from this. I'm not going _anywhere_."

When his spiel was finished, there were tears leaking from her eyes. At the sight of them Jason felt something within him melt, and he brushed at the falling tears with his thumbs, "Aw, 'Lizabeth, honey don't cry."

"I'm not," She insisted weakly, smiling as his thumb brushed the outline of her lips, "I'm happy. Really, I'm happy."

He looked a bit skeptical, but knew that crying and happy occasionally co-mingled when it came to women. Instead of speaking, he leaned forward and kissed her sweetly. Their breath mingled together, and Elizabeth's hands rose from her lap to burrow through his hair as she drew him deeper into the kiss. Arms around her waist, he lifted her from where she sat on the couch to securely place her in his lap. Jason kept one arm tight around his wife's waist, bringing the other hand up to first caress her shoulder, feeling her skin burn under his palm. He then lifted the strands of russet curls spilling over her arm, tucking them behind her ear and then leaving his hand to linger against her soft, porcelain skin; stroking her cheek, then slipping into her hair and massaging her scalp. He leaned her back over the couch; covering her petite body with his much larger one as he loosened the belt of her robe with one hand, keeping himself from crushing her with the other.

--

"You have no right to be here, contaminating my sister's room! Get the hell out!"

"Maxie, you have to calm down!"

"Listen sweetie, this is a very impressive tantrum, but I have a lease! It's a legally binding contract!"

The Scorpio family house was in an uproar. Spinelli shrank further onto the sofa, hoping the Fair Maximista, the Burgeoning One, the Commish, and the Jerk-ish Doc wouldn't notice that he was still there and turn their anger on him.

It would appear Cousin Robin, in an effort to prevent the Commish from forcing her hand as to her abode when the wee one came along, had advertised for a boarder to occupy the room formerly belonging to the Wise and Loyal Georgie. One had answered the ad; the new resident with an attitude of entitlement and jerk-ish tendencies. And the Commish, no doubt without proper thought towards the feelings of Maximista, had signed the lease! That flimsy piece of paper legally entitled the Jerk-ish Doc to reside in Gentle Georgie's vacated room!

Maximista was crushed and distraught, but true to form, she played those emotions close to her bruised heart. Instead she burst forth in a fiery passion and anger towards all involved; the Commish, Cousin Robin, and especially towards the Idiot Interloper. Spinelli felt her pain acutely, and hoped that he would never have the chance, or the senselessness to evoke _this_ kind of anger in her.

"You have no right to do this! You," Maxie spun on her heel to face Robin, her unruly emotions making her wobble and made tears prick at her eyes. But she would not, would _never_, give that self-righteous _prick_ Matt Hunter the satisfaction of knowing he'd made Maxie Jones cry, "You had no right to rent out my sister's room! She was _my _sister! You had no right!" With that final, fervently delivered sentiment, Maxie fled, heading for the stairs and her own room, where she could finally release her tears in peace.

The living room of the Scorpio household was silent for a moment before Robin broke it with, "That could have gone better."

The insensitive Matt Hunter still clutched his lease, "Okay, whatever that was, it doesn't matter. I have a lease, and I have absolutely no intention of breaking it. This is a nice place, it's close to the hospital, and it's a quiet neighborhood. I _like_ it here, and I'm sorry that she's had such a dramatic reaction to me living here, but I'm not giving it up just because she has a tantrum."

"Are you for real?" Steadily, Spinelli unfolded himself from where he'd curled himself into the corner of the sofa, "Have you no actually feelings outside of those completely out of control feelings of esteem you have for yourself? Have you no heart, that you would completely dismiss the-the reaction and emotions of someone so distraught and," He stood inches from Matt Hunter, gesturing with his two hands shaping a sphere in mid-air, "Distressed? The Fair Maximista lost her sister. The Wise and Loyal Georgie was stolen from us all, by a loathsome, contemptible individual. The young woman who the room you now reside in belonged to was the very light in Maximista's life, and her loss is inconceivable and irreplaceable. For you to simply dismiss the fact that Wise Georgie even existed or that she meant so much, to so many people, is debasing and shameful," Spinelli worked hard to keep his voice from wobbling as he spoke of his dearly departed friend and of the pain Maxie suffered as a result of her loss, "For all of you to think of the place where such a beautiful, incomparable soul flourished as nothing more than an empty room that you could simply unload another occupant on, is despicable."

"You finished?" Doctor Hunter demanded with a bit less of his usual sneer. Mac looked contrite, as if he truly hadn't thought of the new boarder as invading Georgie's space, hadn't thought that Maxie would see it as betrayal and as an effort to cover her sister's existence. Robin brushed at a few tears that leaked from her cheeks. Perhaps it was hormones, perhaps it was missing her cousin, but Spinelli hoped that the reasoning behind Maximista's feelings and outburst had finally sunk in to the Scorpios.

Spinelli followed Maxie's path up the stairs, knowing which room was hers. A tap on the door, and he was granted entrance. No one called after him.

--

"Then what were you thinking about all sullen-like?" Elizabeth questioned, curled into his arms once again on that _beautiful_ afternoon.

"You're still thinking about that? Now?" He teased, before sighing and relenting, "Sonny took Michael to the warehouse today, without guards, and something almost happened that could have been disastrous. I was thinking that this just proves how far gone Sonny is," Jason drew his fingertips up her arm, then back down her soft skin, "I knew he was slipping, and I knew that it was bad. He's making mistakes that could get people killed. If I hadn't of sent Max to check out the warehouse," He paused, willing himself not to think about the 'what ifs' and was for once thankful for his lack of ability to, "And Michael was there _damn it_. He could have been seriously hurt, or worse."

"Hey, hey," Pushing up on one arm, she leaned over him, locking her blue eyes with his grey ones, "You didn't let that happen. You _wouldn't _let that happen. Baby," Elizabeth tenderly stroked his face until the grimace lines began to fade, "You're not Sonny, and you're not going to make his mistakes. You're smart, and strong, and I know you will do everything to protect us."

"What could have happened this afternoon would have been disastrous," Jason mused, hoping and knowing she was right all at the same time, "As long as I'm around, nothing like this is ever going to happen again. Sonny's been making stupid moves, and it could have cost us Michael. I won't let that happen to my sons. Or to you."

She loved the way he instinctively called them _his sons_. Both Cameron and Jake, though he'd only biologically had to claim Jake. Cameron thought the world of Jason, awaited his visits, smiled more in his presence. And Jake simply brightened when his father entered the room, as if merely seeing his daddy assured the tot everything would be alright. She knew the faith and the love that her little boys bestowed on him wasn't misplaced, and would never be treated like it was anything less than priceless. Jason didn't simply _say _he loved them; his actions proved it.

A persistent, heavy banging started on the door. Jason groaned, dropping his face to bury it in her shoulder, while his wife giggled in his ear, "Timing right?"

"I'll get rid of them," Jason promised solemnly, steeling himself as he caught another glimpse of her tantalizing bare legs before she curled them underneath of her.

He was going to hurt whoever was at the door for interrupting their precious, stolen moments. Although now, he thought wryly, their time would be stolen in a whole other way entirely. Grasping the knob, he pulled the door open to reveal Sonny Corinthos on the other side.

"Good, you're home," Sonny pushed his way into the apartment, not even looking up from his path as he barged into his partner's home, "We need to talk." Finally bringing his head from the floor, he was taken aback when he saw Elizabeth curled into the corner of the couch, clad in a soft, pink robe. Was _this_ the reason Jason had been so distracted and ornery lately? He'd been sneaking around with his little nursemaid? The same woman who didn't want him anywhere near his own kid? "You won't let him be with his son, but it's okay to sneak around and sleep with him?" Sonny blurted out before actually thinking.

Jason quickly jumped in, speaking in a clipped tone, "You do not speak to my wife like that. In our home or anywhere else."

Sonny gaped, "You-your what? Since when?"

"Wife. C'mon Sonny, remember the ceremony where you stand up by the priest and promise to love each other faithfully forever? You've done it like-what? Six, seven times?"

Elizabeth could see that Sonny was a hair-trigger away from blasting Jason about disrespecting him, which would send Jason off on a tangent of his own. Her husband had been sitting on a powder keg of buried anger and resentment when it came to his partner; this afternoon's development increasing that ten-fold, and Elizabeth could see that if pushed too far, it could very well explode; burning bridges and cutting ties, "I'm going to go. I've got to go pick the boys up at Grams and bring them home. I just can't wait to explain the recent developments to her."

Jason caught her wrist loosely between his fingers, seeing her worry behind the sarcastic cracks, "You want me to go with you?"

"No, baby, that's okay," She gave him a quick kiss, a promise of more, much more, later to come, "I'd rather the boys _not_ see their father get beaned with a figurine of the baby Jesus again."

Smiling ruefully, Jason rubbed the back of his head, thinking back to the moment they'd broken the news of their marriage to Audrey. Elizabeth's grandmother had been one of the very view who'd known, "Your grandmother has a mean arm."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and with a curt nod in Sonny's direction, headed up the stairs. Both men watched her go; one longing, the other bewildered. When she soon disappeared from sight, Sonny turned that same bewildered look on Jason. The enforcer merely shrugged,

"She was having a moment," Seriousness quickly descended over him once again, and Jason inquired, "What are you here for Sonny?"

The Cuban paused, rubbed his forehead with an open palm before facing his long-time partner squarely in the eyes, "I want out," Both held themselves completely, totally still, the tension that permeated the room thick enough to be sliced, "And I want _you _to make it happen."


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

**Summary: **Much has happened in the past few weeks….

**Disclaimer: **I don't own GH or its characters, I'm just borrowing them.

**Author's Notes: **Okie-dokie, I realize that it's been forever since the last chapter… but I've got a new one for you… and it's a long one…if that helps. It's a lot of bringing up to speed, but hopefully you like it.

---

Things had changed.

So much had changed in the past few weeks. The power shift had gone smoother than Sonny had expected. Most, if not all, of the Corinthos-Morgan (now Morgan) employees were more accustomed to dealing with Jason anyway. He was the logical, rational one who'd earned their trust working alongside them.

"_You want me to what?" _

_There were long, tense moments where neither man spoke. Both simply stood, mirroring the other's stance of hands on hips, silently staring._

"_Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?" Jason asked quietly, breaking the silence, and Sonny's eyes came up to meet his._

"_I know exactly what I'm asking here Jason; I built-I built my business up from nothing. I-y'know-I nurtured it. I built my reputation as the best, and no one-no one Jason- was gonna come in here," Sonny gestured pointedly with a finger aimed at the floor, "And make a move on my territory. I've given everything to it, sweat, my own," He pounded a fist against his chest, "My own _blood_ went into building this business."_

_Possibly more baffled than he had been originally, Jason sat back on the arm of the couch and crossed his arms. He simply sat and waited for Sonny to finish. He knew if he waited, Sonny would ramble on, and eventually what the older man was trying to say might just be said. Maybe._

"_I want out Jason, I want a life."_

"_You want a life," Jason finished for him, quickly deducing what had brought on the entire conversation, "You want a life with Kate."_

"_This isn't about Kate," Sonny tried to deflect, but Jason was having none of it,_

"_That's exactly what this is about. You want Kate, but she won't have you so long as you're in the mob," Anger was what was building within Jason. He tamped it down, but there was only so long one could do that, "But this business, it's a part of who you are Sonny. You've made decisions-I've-we've made decisions that brought us where we are. .You made the choice to be in this business. You can't—it doesn't work; once you're in this business, there's no getting out of it. You were the one who kept telling me that. It's the way this business works. What makes you think that it will work any different for you?" _

"_Now, come on Jason," Sonny didn't like the way this was progressing, and tried intensely to sway the conversation back to where he wanted it, "That's not fair."_

"_Do you seriously want to talk to me about fair Sonny?" Jason looked to his former friend, disbelief and anger holding his face, "Because I'm thinking that's a place you don't want to go with me."_

"_What the _hell_ does that mean?" Sonny exclaimed angrily, taking steps towards him. _

"_It means that nothing is ever fair! You want me to take on the business so that you can skip off into the sunset to have your own life. You know I wouldn't want this."_

It'd been a decision that had weighed heavily on him. Sonny was asking for the impossible; for him to facilitate his exit from the _business_, quickly, without any kind of repercussions. The fact that Sonny even thought that it would be possible, was beyond him. Not to mention the fact that Sonny was ridiculously possessive of the _business_; acting as if nothing would ever be done if he hadn't put his stamp on it.

And then, on the other hand, were the mistakes Jason couldn't have helped but begun to number. The latest incident at the warehouse was the pinnacle. _Incident_ didn't even begin to cover what had actually happened; there was no way that it could be ignored. If he hadn't of sent Max to check out the building; Michael could have been seriously injured, or worse. There was no way for him to forget about it, nor was there any way for it not to influence his decision. Which Elizabeth had mentioned when they'd talked about it.

"_I think you should take it."_

"_What?" Jason looked sideways at his wife as they sat side-by-side on the edge of their bed. The boys had just been tucked into their own beds, and Spinelli was off with Maxie, so they had the penthouse to themselves when she'd finally called him on his glum mood, "Elizabeth; why?"_

"_You said it yourself; Sonny's slipping. He's making dangerous mistakes," Elizabeth slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers, "If Sonny's putting lives at risk what else can you do?"_

"_Are you-are you sure about this?" He stuttered, not quite sure she understood what this all would entail, "Because, Elizabeth, there isn't any going back on this."_

"_I know that Jason. And I know it means increased security, more guards, more precautions; but I can handle that if that's what it takes to keep our family safe," Elizabeth knew exactly what she was talking about. This was what they'd danced around for years; the reality of the danger in his life, and by extension, the lives of their children. But it was what it was; the situation created by choices that had been made a long time ago; before he'd known any better, and now, there was no way to change them. There was only to accept the situation as it were, and deal with it the best they could. _

_He doubled his arms around her, holding her tightly against him, "Alright, I'll call Sonny."_

"_Hmmm," It was a decision neither one of them made lately; it held them both on edge, "I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

After he'd agreed to take over the business and the papers had been signed; naming him _master and commander _of an empire he didn't want, Sonny and Kate had left Port Charles for the time being. They'd flown to Paris and then, were supposed to travel through Europe. There were jokes throughout the guards about _Mr. Kate Howard_, following her around like a puppy.

The penthouse was a bit more crowded now. There were three new occupants, and all that came with them. It would still have some getting used to; waking up in the middle of the night to infant Jake's cries, or having to wind through the minefield that Cameron's toy trains created in the living room. The new _family_ brought a new, more homey feel to the penthouse.

Devlin had been taken care of, and his drug-smuggling-intentions had come to light via an anonymous tip to the DA's office. Official word on his disappearance was that he'd either realized the PCPD and other agencies were close on his trail, or he'd been discovered skimming profits from his suppliers. Jerry Jaxs, it had come out, was Devlin's partner, and warrants had quickly been executed for his arrest. As it stood, Mr. Craig had yet to be spotted since, and it was doubted he would appear on their radar any time soon.

The reactions of their friends and family had been _interesting_, to say the least.

Carly had freaked, to put it lightly, not being able to comprehend that Jason had married Elizabeth (of all people, in Carly's opinion), had a child with her, and never mentioned it to Carly. He was sure that he was that she had still been ranting as he left; unable to listen any longer.

Spinelli; while the Jackal had been appraised of the situation the whole time; had nearly jumped out of his skin when he'd been informed that the Fair Maternal One and the Wee Ones were moving into the penthouse. He'd thrown his arms around Elizabeth, and then Jason; quickly bounding away into some sort of dance that involved him prancing about the living room, chanting happily.

The Quatermaines were ecstatic; Edward especially. He'd immediately sprung into talk of ELQ and changing his will, and of having _hope for the family yet_. Jason could tell they'd have to rein him in, and he had absolutely no idea how. Just yelling at his Grandfather was not going to work.

Claudia had thumped him on the back and proudly told him that she was glad he'd gotten his head out of his ass. Then she'd slyly snuck in, "Is it the same woman you were mooning over back in Italy?"

He'd given her a puzzled look, "What are you talkin' about?"

"When you came to Italy way back when, and you went to that bar, like, maybe the third night you'd been there," Claudia began, sinking into the chair across the desk from him and slinging one leg over the other while flinging her skirt over her knee. He still watched her with a puzzled look, and Claudia had to roll her eyes, snickering, "Half the bar had already propositioned you, another third was waiting for their crack at it, and you weren't even noticing it. You were too tied up in staring at your beer and mooning about some silly little girl you'd left back here in ol'Port Chuckles."

Jason hadn't been sure how to react to _that_ either.

---

"Clearly, we need a girls' night out," Lainey had declared the day the news broke, and Kelly finished the sentiment as the psychologist and the OB-GYN stood on opposite sides of the locker room; with Robin sprawled on the bench and Elizabeth at her locker in between them,

"Yeah, so Elizabeth can tell us what it's like to have _that _kind of man-candy as a husband."

They'd collected Nadine and Leyla, and even extended an invitation to Epiphany. The head nurse had _harrumped_ and sent them on their merry way; all the while secretly pleased they'd asked and muttering about the silly, excitable behavior of the hospital's senior staff.

"So you and Jason huh?" It began as soon as they'd all claimed chairs around one of the empty tables in Jake's and had their drinks (or French fries) of choice in front of them. The neon sign in the front window blinked periodically, illuminating around the bar and the jukebox played the low strains of a slow 80's ballad.

"Finally," Nadine muttered into her drink, and Elizabeth nudged her shoulder, both laughing

"If you and Jason have been together all this time," Robin began unsurely, "Then why didn't anybody know? I mean, what was with all of the secrecy?"

"Things were crazy; Emily was gone, Lucky left, Monica went into rehab, and there was so much going on and up in the air that Jason and I just felt like we should _ease_ into the whole thing," Elizabeth explained, knitting her fingers together around her glass, "Especially for Cameron; since Lucky just dropped off the radar without a word."

"Bastard," Nadine was again talking to her glass, muttering so that Elizabeth was the only one who could hear. Nadine was the only one out of the group who knew the whole, true story; right from the very beginning; the _very _beginning. Between Elizabeth, Spinelli, and even a few tidbits of information she'd inferred from Jason, Nadine had begun to put the puzzle pieces together. When she'd come to a conclusion, instead of sitting on it, or asking around; Nadine had taken her findings straight to Elizabeth. Still reeling from loosing Emily, Elizabeth was grateful to have a friend to lean on.

"Did you tell anyone?" Robin asked, toying with one of the fries on her plate.

"Monica knew, my Grams, Spinelli," Elizabeth listed the few who'd been _in the know_, "Of course the boys knew, so did a few of the guys who work for Jason, and Nadine."

"Wait-wait-wait-wait a minute!" Kelly threw up her hands, narrowly missing sending Lainey's fruity drink flying, "Nadine, you knew?"

It was the blonde's turn to blush and duck her face, "I-uh-yeah, I knew."

"Oh my god," Leyla gaped at her friend, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide; "You never said a word."

"I can't believe you didn't say anything!" Robin exclaimed, waggling the fry at her, "You never even hinted!"

Nadine shrugged, looking up from her drink, "It wasn't my secret to tell."

"But how—how did you find out?" Lainey asked, and with a sly look, Kelly added,

"I guess she learned a thing or two from those guys' hockey nights."

Leyla and Kelly both broke into giggles, and even Elizabeth had to chuckle, but Robin and Lainey simply looked on; bewildered once again.

---

Stopping in the doorway of the _regrettably pink room_, Jason watched as his young friend solemnly went about whatever he was working at on his computer. For the past few weeks, Spinelli had been in some kind of a funk; bringing out a quiet and mopey side to the young hacker that Jason hadn't seen in a while. He could feel his young friend distancing himself and drawing into himself, which worried him, as Jason knew exactly what kind of trouble that could cause; being an expert in the action himself.

"Alright," Jason's sudden voice startled Spinelli, the younger man jumping in his chair before spinning around to face his mentor, "What's going on with you?"

Spinelli's brows drew together as he regarded his friend, puzzled, "The Jackal does not quite understand the meaning of your query."

"I know that you've been kind put on the back-burner, what with Elizabeth and the boys moving in, the whole marriage going public, and all the other changes going on around here." Jason lowered himself to sit on the edge of Spinelli's haphazardly made bed, "And that you've been pretty quiet lately, which I have to say, is strange," Jason leaned forward, his forearms balancing on his thighs, "You seem a little stressed kid. If you—if there's something you need to talk about, you know where to find me, okay?"

"Of course, the Jackal appreciates his master's concern," Spinelli nervously picked at a loose thread on his sleeve, "And he must bid that his master not trouble himself further on the Jackal's behalf."

"Spinelli," Jason stated frankly, "If you want to talk I'm around. Don't worry about troubling anyone. If you've got a problem, you can always come to me. Understand?"

Spinelli nodded, seeming to agree, but unwilling to say much anything else. _This_ was the behavior that had Jason worried about his young friend. It was unusual for Spinelli to clam up like this. Deciding that Spinelli would come to him in his own time, Jason nodded again, and began weaving his way through the clutter to exit the room. But Spinelli's hushed, gloomy voice drew him back as he reached the hall,

"I wouldn't wish to burden the Master's new-found and well-deserved happiness with my trivialities."

---

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Robin called over the raucous laughter at their table, "What are you talking about? Guys' hockey nights?"

"Nadine?" Lainey shook her head, "What've you been up to?"

"It's not a big deal," Nadine protested, fighting off the blush that was creeping up her neck, "I just meet a bunch of people to watch the hockey game every once and a while. It's no big deal."

"Is one of those people Nikolas Cassadine?" Lainey teased, and then all hope was lost for Nadine controlling the crimson color as it rose from her neck to engulf her entire face.

" What? Why-why would you ask that?"

"Oh come _on_ Nadine," Kelly ribbed the flustered nurse, "You and that oh-so-fine Cassadine spend all that time together at the clinic."

As an aside, Robin leaned over to whisper to Elizabeth, "Did she just rhyme?" Elizabeth nodded, glancing quizzically as the OB-GYN continued to wheedle Nadine.

"Not to mention going out to Wyndmere," Leyla threw in demurely, her announcement met with a startled squeak from Nadine and a glare that clearly heralded nothing would ever be told to the other woman in confidence again.

"Well, c'mon on girl," Kelly motioned towards Nadine with her glass, "Spill."

Stifling a groan, Nadine stated firmly, "There isn't anything _to_ spill. Nikolas and I are _just friends_. That's it."

"Sure, sure it is," Robin concluded, nodding as if she didn't believe a word Nadine was saying.

"You really think we'd buy that?" Kelly taunted with a laugh, "We've heard that with _this_ one," She indicated Robin, "_And_ this one," This time she pointed at Elizabeth, "So don't think you're going to get away with what Robin's been playing for more than two years, and Elizabeth has been pulling for the past—what? Three, four years?"

"Ten," Nadine threw out, and the uproar started again; although this time it was directed elsewhere.

---

"So I hear your investment cut and ran," Johnny looked up from where he sat at a poker table with the Haunted Star's ledger books spread out in front of him; to find his sister making her way down the casino's entryway steps.

"Yeah," Frustrated, he tossed the pen he held at the open book on the top of the pile and rubbed at his eyes, "Old Luke disappeared into the night, again."

"Well; how hospitable of him. You buy into his old, near sinking tugboat and he skips town," Claudia quipped, bypassing the ledger-laden card table and headed instead towards the bar. Using both hands as leverage; she lifted herself off her red, high-heeled boots to sit on the counter. Grinning, she swung her legs around to the other side of the counter and slid off. As he heard the tell-tale clink noises of glass-against-glass, Johnny had to twist in his chair to call back,

"Claude, what'cha doing?"

"Inspecting his wares," Was her muffled answer before, "Ooooh, I found the good stuff."

Johnny rolled his eyes; listening to the rattle of ice and the slosh of pouring liquid. Then, soon, she was settling into the chair across from him; sipping at her drink. Inspecting his expression, she held out the heavy, glass tumbler to him, "Want a sip?"

"No, thanks," He shook his head, looking back to the books, "These books are a mess."

"Yeah?"

"Extremely," Johnny sighed, following a line of poorly entered numbers with his pen, "Whoever kept the books had little to no idea what they were doing."

"Crap."

"Yup."

The two Zacchara siblings sat in silence for a few moments; Johnny staring at the ledgers with hatred in his expression, and Claudia calmly sipping her drink.

"I'll give Spencer one thing though," Claudia broke the quiet, crunching on an ice cube, "He has excellent taste in alcohol."

Chortling, Johnny acknowledged, "He ought to; the guy's a boozehound."

---

"Spinelli, hold on a minute," Jason turned back from the doorway, returning to the _regrettably pink room_ as he heard his protégé's mutterings, "Don't talk like that kid. You are _not_ bothering anybody."

"The Jackal-I-appreciate your fervent declaration," Spinelli mumbled, speaking more to the cluttered carpeting than to his mentor, "But I also realize that you have finally just achieved your dream of having the Fair Maternal One and the Wee Ones by your side," He swallowed hard, standing from his computer chair, "That's been what you've wanted almost since I met you Jason. Now, you have your family, and I—you don't require the Jackal's presence anymore. Perhaps it is time for me to move on," Spinelli seemed to become more melancholy as he spoke each word, "To spread my metaphorical wings, blow where the wind-"

Harsher than he intended, Jason interrupted, "Spinelli, sit your ass down."

Immediately, Spinelli dropped back into his chair, eyes wide and mouth shut as he watched his mentor carefully.

"I want you to just listen to me for a few minutes. Ack," He chastised as Spinelli opened his mouth, "Don't talk—just listen."

Buttoning his lips, Spinelli nodded; eyes fixed on Jason.

"Okay," Jason sighed, lowering once again to sit on the edge of Spinelli's bed, "I understand if you want to move out, you need your own space. You have to do what's best for you. But you don't have to move out because you think you're in the way.

Yes, having Elizabeth and the boys here is a big deal. They're family, and it's been a long time in coming. You know better than anyone how much them being here means to me. Because you're a part of this family."

"Stone Cold," Baffled, poor Spinelli felt like his heart may just beat out of his chest. He didn't want to assume, but was Stone Cold—Jason saying? Spinelli had always thought of Jason as family; probably without even realizing. But he hadn't known that Jason thought of him the same way.

"You were the one who was there from the beginning. When Alan died, after I found out about Jake, after Emily," He paused, swallowed. The usual wall, the outer shell he normally projected was down. He was emotionally vulnerable; and very few people had ever seen it. Had ever been trusted enough to see the true man behind the shield, "You are a part of this family Spinelli. You're important to me, to us," A small smile came to his face at Spinelli's shining eyes, "You will _always_ have a family here, you understand?"

With glittering eyes, hands clutching the armrests so hard his knuckles had lost all color; Spinelli nodded vigorously.

"Okay," Knowing his protégé was trying to stop himself from swallowing him in a hug, Jason stood, ruffling the younger man's mop of hair. Spinelli's restraint broke, and he threw his arms around Jason's waist. The blonde chuckled, patting the younger man's back.

----

"Elizabeth."

"Oh, hey Doctor Julian," Elizabeth looked up to find the handsome cardiac surgeon standing beside her at the bar, the colored lights from the neon sign spilling over onto his face, "Having a good time?"

"Yeah, definitely. It's hard not to have a good time here," Leo chuckled in a low voice, "And call me Leo. We're not at the hospital."

"Okay," Elizabeth smiled warily, "Leo."

"You here with anybody?" Leo asked almost uninterestedly. In reality, he was quite interested, but it wouldn't go well if he came off like that.

"Yeah, I came with a few people from work," Elizabeth accepted the glasses Coleman set on the bar counter in front of her, "Thanks Coleman."

"Hey, no problem darlin'. You know it's my favorite night when you and those other fine General Hospital ladies descend upon my establishment."

She laughed, offering a bright smile to the surgeon at the bar, "See you later Leo."

"See you," He returned the smile, and watched her as she returned to her table; fully enjoying the swing of her hips as she walked away from him.

"Mmmhmm," Leo turned back to find the bartender shaking his head, "Man, she's one comely dame. But you might want to point your peepers in another direction."

"Why's that?" It had been weeks that Robin had been trying to get Elizabeth to go out to dinner with him. Why now was the hairy bartender at the local dive warning him off? He'd been told she was a single mom, that she hadn't been seeing anyone since her divorce. Was that why?

"You see that big feller over there?" Coleman pointed to the bald man hunched into a dark corner, a half-empty beer in glass in front of him on the table amidst the peanut shells.

"Yeah?" Leo really had _no_ idea what the stooping man in the shadows had to do with Elizabeth.

"He's here because his boss is Miss Elizabeth's husband. And Miss Elizabeth's husband would not take kindly to you imagining his lady without her garments on; you dig?" Truth be told, Coleman would have actually paid money to see Morgan wipe the floor with the prissy little doctor. But that wouldn't be fair. Jason could probably do it one handed. And the good Doctor Julian looked like a crier.

-----

"You want to tell me what's going on with you?" Jason asked after each had settled back into their original seats.

"I have been trying to locate my biological parentage," Spinelli began, fisting his hands, while he still basked in the glow of being chosen as his mentor's _family_, "And I have exhausted my considerable cyber arsenal, and have come up with very little," He perked up a little as he asked; "Perhaps you could take a look at my findings? Your discerning eye may be just what is needed to restart my stalled efforts!"

"Okay, okay," Jason waved down his young friend's enthusiasm, "Tomorrow, you can fill me in on all of your findings, and I'll see what I can do. I'll do what I can to help you Spinelli, jus-just don't get your hopes up too high okay? There may not be anything that I can do that you haven't already tried."

"Okay, okay," Spinelli repeated, but Jason could see that his friend was almost vibrating from excitement inside.

----

"Hey babe, how was your ni-"He managed to hit the second to last step when she reached forward, wound her hand in the light blue cotton of his t-shirt and drug him to her; planting a crushing kiss on his lips. His arms came around her waist, not breaking the kiss as he finished descending the stairs. As they came apart, he gave her a sultry look, "Miss me?"

"Of course," Elizabeth grinned, giving him another peck on the mouth before slipping out of his arms. Crossing to the closet, she shrugged off her jacket, "Tonight was fun. Of course, it all started with an inquisition, and then, when they thought they'd gotten all the story they could out of me, they turned on Nadine; and boy, can that girl blush pretty colors."

Jason chuckled, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets and leaning back against the arm of the couch. He could imagine poor Nadine, trapped with a bunch of women all barraging her with questions. He didn't envy his friend. He would have been inclined to duck out the door at the first sight of them coming, "Poor Nadine."

"So," Closing the closet door, Elizabeth stood in front of him, hands stuffed in the back pockets of her jeans, "How'd tonight go?"

"Good. Cameron told Max and Milo all about _Chuggin' Charlie_," He smiled, remembering the boy seated on the couch, holding court with the guards around him. It was a sight, "And I managed to roust Spinelli out of his room."

"Wow, he's been holing up in there a lot lately. Is Spinelli okay? I mean, it's not because the kids and I are here, is it?"

"No, no," Jason rushed to reassure her, slipping his arms around her and tugging her against him, "It's not that. He's damn near ecstatic that you're all here," He rubbed his hands up and down her back, "So am I. Spinelli's just got a new project, and he didn't want to ask me for help because he thought he'd be getting in the way."

"What?" Elizabeth threaded her arms around his shoulders, a hand brushing through the short hair on the back of his neck, "Why would he think that? Did someone say something to him, because I'll hurt them. Spin's family, you told him that right?"

"Of course," He had to smile at her vehement reaction. It was the same he'd had; but he was grateful that she cared about his young friend as much as she did, "Of course I did. And after that, he had to hug me."

"Aww," She giggled at that, "He loves you."

"Yeah, yeah," He rolled her eyes, but Elizabeth knew he was pleased, "Seeing as I'm so loveable and all."

"You are." She had to giggle again as he swooped her up and over his shoulder, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. Laughing, she asked, "Jason, what're you doing? Where're we going?"

He too was laughing as he started up the stairs. Running a hand down her jean clad leg, he jostled her on his shoulder and muttered good-naturedly, "We'll see who's loveable."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

**Author's Notes: **Alright, here's chapter seven. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this chapter, but here it is.  Thanks to everybody whose read and reviewed thus far. This wasn't beta-ed, so all mistakes are mine. Cookies to anyone who can recognize the Monty Python line.

**----**

"Spin-elli!" Maxie whispered furiously, tapping on his closed bedroom door. She was more inclined to simply burst inside of the room, but she did _not _want to walk in on something she'd rather not see, "C'mon Spinelli! Open this door right now!"

"Hi."

The small voice startled her; causing Maxie to jump on her heels and nearly knock her head against Spinelli's still closed door. Standing not three feet away from her, with a curious look on his face stood a curly haired four-year-old.

"What'cha doing lady?" Cameron asked, staring up at her with big, brown eyes.

"I-um-uh-I-hi," Maxie stuttered as the child quietly and calmly watched her stand and babble in the hallway, "I'm just here to visit Spinelli. Do you think he's-uh-still sleeping?" Maxie clutched her designer purse's strap, debating on kicking Spinelli's door open. Anything to get him to answer.

Cameron giggled, "Sp'nelli's not home. He went with Daddy."

"Oh, oh crap," Maxie burst out with, making Cameron break out into giggles again. Neither Spinelli nor Jason was home, and she had been cornered by a four-year-old. _Elizabeth Webber's _four-year-old. And she really didn't want to run into his mother; _really_. It was too early in the day open _that _can of worms.

"Cameron! Come on honey! It's time to get your jacket on!" Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs, and then suddenly, the woman she didn't want to see was practically _looming_ at the end of the hallway, "Oh, hi Maxie. What are—are you looking for Spinelli? Because he and Jason already left; about a half hour ago."

For a full minute, to her complete horror, Maxie's mouth didn't work. She couldn't force sounds from her constricted throat out her mouth. When she finally managed to push the sounds through her lips, Maxie stuttered, "I-uh-yeah. I didn't know. It would have been nice for Marco to let me know, before he let me barge right in here. I mean, it's not like I wanted to wander through the place, and run into."

"Me," Elizabeth interrupted before Maxie could finish her sentence, "Look, Maxie, I asked Marco, to let you up, even if Spinelli wasn't home."

"Why?" Maxie exclaimed, "What could that possibly accomplish? We're not friends, we're barely civil. Why?"

"Because we need to talk," Elizabeth began, then turned her attention back to her son, "Cameron, honey, can you go on downstairs and wait with Milo for me? Tell him to help you put your jacket on, okay baby?"

"Okay Mommy," The boy replied, before offering a happy little wave to Maxie, "Bye lady!" Before trotting down the stairs, calling, "Milly! Mommy says you gotta help me with my jacket!"

"Alright Maxie, I know that you and I are never going to be best friends," Elizabeth began, hoping to get what she had to say out and over as quickly and as painlessly as possible, "That will, in all honesty, not work. But Spinelli thinks of you as a friend, and Spinelli is important to Jason, and to me. So, for their sakes, I think that we should be able to peacefully co-exist, don't you?"

----

"Boss."

The door to the office opened, and the elder Giambetti stuck his head in.

"Yeah Max?" Jason looked up from his desk.

"They're here."

A hint of a grin crossed the blonde's face and he dropped his pen to the desktop, "Send them in."

He'd called them back; both of them. One had been falsely accused; the other had taken a bit of a 'working vacation'. Alcazar had been behind the whole thing; wanting to throw them off of what he had been planning, and tried to make it look like Johnny had turned against them. But instead, Jason had managed to placate Sonny into hold off while he did a little investigating. He and Francis had soon turned up the truth; and again Jason had managed to convince Sonny to send Johnny away, making him no use to Alcazar and keeping his friend safe, at the same time. But now, things had changed, and they were back. They were needed here now.

The bodyguard followed with a grin of his own, "Sure thing boss," Max disappeared, and moments later a graying head appeared in his place,

"Hey _Boss_."

"It's good to see you again Francis," Jason extended a hand to his old friend, and the handshake was returned with gusto, "I'm glad to have you back."

"Likewise Jase," Francis clapped the younger man on the back. Looking behind his newly arrived friend, Jason didn't see what he expected,

"Where's John?"

"Sleeping it off in the car," Francis chuckled, "Some floppy haired kid with a computer is making sure he doesn't choke on his own drool."

"Shit," Jason groaned, asking, "How much did he have to drink on the plane?"

"I lost track," The Italian admitted ruefully, "He drank and watched cartoons the whole way back."

"Cartoons?"

"He says they're better hammered."

Jason snickered, "John would know."

----

"Argh! _There _you are!" Maxie announced loudly, marching across the sidewalk to her friend as he stood next to car, across the street from Jason's coffee house/office. Lightly slapping him on the bicep, she fitted her arms together, "I tried finding you this morning; I even went to the penthouse, and I ended up getting cornered by Cameron and Elizabeth. Elizabeth wanted to _talk_, Spinelli, _talk_. And I have to say, Jason must be staring early with that kid's stealth training because I did _not_ hear him coming at _all_," Maxie finally slowed in her ramblings to peer into the car Spinelli seemed to be guarding; squinting in the open window to find a well built man in a wrinkled suit, the first three buttons of his rumpled and spotted dress shirt undone, sprawled across the back seat of the car; fast asleep, "Why are you watching some random guy sleep and, ew; drool; in his car?"

"Good morning Maximista," Spinelli began, a befuddled look on his face, "You went looking for me?"

"Well, yeah," Maxie leaned forward, catching a deep whiff of the sleeping man's breath and hurriedly withdrew, cringing, "Whew. Why are you baby-sitting a napping drunk?"

"Apparently the dozing one is a skilled protector of the night, held in high regard by Stone Cold," Spinelli said by way of explanation, before wanting to know, "What did the Fair Elizabeth wish to speak with you about?"

"Just stuff," Maxie evaded, having decided on the way from the penthouse to the coffee house that she wasn't going to disclose the topic of her conversation with Elizabeth to Spinelli. Well, she'd decided that she'd t least try not to. He usually managed to wrangle the truth out of her; even if he didn't mean to. Maxie just had problems lying to Spinelli. He was, after all, her best friend.

"Ah," Spinelli nodded, like he understood, but in reality, he had absolutely no idea what his fair blonde friend was talking about. The female kind was a mystery to him.

---

"Hey guys!" A bubbly salutation from behind them had both Maxie and Spinelli jumping where they stood; Spinelli knocking his head off of the car door, and Maxie letting out a startled squeak as the coffee sloshed from the paper cup she held.

"Geez Nadine!" Maxie gripped, checking her shoes for splatters, "_Must _you be so damn cheery?"

"Yes," Nadine deadpanned, and then treated the other blonde to a toothy, ultra-bright, fake smile, "What are you guys doing?"

"We are standing guard over the sleeping protector of the night," Spinelli explained, gesturing towards the still-dozing, still-drooling man slumped in the back seat of the black, non-descript car.

"I think he's dreaming," Nadine observed, as the sleeping man flung an arm out over the back of the car seat, and muttered,

"I don't want to go in the cart."

Spinelli cocked his head to one side, and stared, perplexed, at the 'protector of the night'. Maxie arched a brow, and planted on hand on a hip. Nadine pursed her lips into a hard line; her eyes bright as she tried not to burst out laughing.

"That's just weird," Maxie said decidedly, taking a step back as the napping man swung a hand out of the open window.

"That looks uncomfortable," Nadine agreed, and Spinelli looked back from the man in the car to the two of them,

"Perhaps we should wake him?"

Hugging her jacket closed around her, Nadine asked, "Who is he anyway?"

"Friend of Jason's," Maxie replied, as if the premise shocked her sensibilities.

"And why is he napping, _whoa_," Leaning too close, Nadine caught the scent of the sleeping man's breath that set her back a few feet, "Sleeping off an overabundance of tequila, outside of the Coffee House?"

"He had a companion," Spinelli mentioned, pointing towards the door of the coffee shop, "A graying fellow with a commanding demeanor instructed me to remain vigil over the sleeping protector of the night."

"You mean, he told you to make sure the guy doesn't choke on his own drool," A fourth voice joined their conversation, and Spinelli shrugged, conceding,

"Basically."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Maxie asked, hiking her purse higher on her shoulder.

"Jason's place makes the best coffee in town," Was Johnny's dull reply before he gently poked Nadine's shoulder, "How'd you get here so fast? You got some kind of transporter I don't know about?"

"Indubitably," Nadine joked with a grin.

"Do," The drunken napper was seemingly on the precise of being a hung-over dozer, "In, do, bid, do. Bid do. Ba do."

"Is he _singing_?" The blonde fashionista exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

"It would appear so," The hacker used both hands to sweep his hair off of his face, glancing around the group.

"Oh-kay," The nurse drawled, once again restraining her laugher.

The final member of the quartet shook his head, observing, "Jason's got some interesting friends."

"And we haven't even been formally introduced yet." The voice was new; loud and clear, coming from inside the car. A hand was stuck out the open window, "John O'Brien."

The movement of the hand in the window space, unexpected and sudden, made Maxie jumped backward and knocked into Spinelli; sending the hacker to the sidewalk. Nadine immediately tensed, and then jumped aside to avoid being toppled. But Johnny placidly removed his hands from his coat pockets; one he slipped around Nadine to help her keep her balance, the other he extended towards O'Brien, "John Zacchara."

At hearing Johnny's last name, O'Brien refrained from any kind of facial expression that may quantify a reaction, simply raised his brows, "Really?"

"Yeah," Johnny nodded, and Nadine too offered a hand to shake,

"Nadine Crowell."

Trying to pull Spinelli from the ground, Maxie threw out, her voice a little strained, "Maxie Jones."

"I recall," O'Brien remarked dryly, and Maxie's grasp on Spinelli's arm slipped, and he fell back to the sidewalk, having not yet gained back his balance.

"Damian Spinelli," He called from the ground, then had to scurry back and to his feet as the car door opened and O'Brien stepped out.

"You're Jason's sidekick," O'Brien stated matter-of-factly, extending a hand and pulling Spinelli to his feet, "The Jackal of Cyberspace, I believe."

Back on his feet, Spinelli's face brightened, and he asked excitedly, "You've heard of me?"

"Maybe once or twice," O'Brien said emotionlessly, but his eyes told a different story, and Spinelli wasn't sure he wanted to ask him to tell it.

"Oh," Spinelli murmured, unsure as to how to respond to that.

"What're you all doing standing around out here?" Slamming the car door, O'Brien asked curiously.

"Some old guy told Spinelli to watch you," Maxie blurted out.

---

"Jesus H. Christ Jason," Francis swore, smoothing a hand over his day-old scruff, "If his head gets any further up his own ass, ol'Sonny-boy's going to be sneezing up shit."

"You always had a way with words Francis," Jason acknowledged wryly, leaning back in his chair behind the desk.

"We can't all be the strong, silent type," The older man twirled a pen between his yellow-stained fingers, "Never knew you had leadership aspirations."

"I didn't. I don't," Jason shrugged, "But there wasn't another viable option. He's slipping Francis, and in our business-"

"We can't afford that," Francis finished for him. A resigned look of understanding passed between the two of them.

----

Two men exited the coffee shop/office. One was Jason; in his requisite leather jacket over black shirt, dark jeans and motorcycle boots. The other was an older man in a well cut suit, with graying hair and an assessing stare.

"That the old guy?" O'Brien guessed, pointing towards the twosome.

"Yes," Spinelli nodded.

"Hello Morgan," O'Brien greeted stoically staring at the man he spoke to as the twosome crossed to the group still hovering around the car's passenger side.

"Hello O'Brien," Jason returned, affixing the same stare, "You've sobered up considerably I see."

"Nothing like a nice, refreshing nap in the backseat, I always say," O'Brien quipped with a grin that both Francis and Jason knew all too well, "Hey, Franny; guess what? The Scooby-Doo gang here said that you were some _old _guy. Seems you're losing that intimidating touch in your old age."

"O'Brien," The graying guard replied, almost sweetly to anyone who didn't know him well enough to see what he was really thinking, "How'd you like to ride the whole way to the Towers in the trunk? We haven't done that in a while."

He pulled a face and opened his mouth, but before O'Brien could let out a sound, Max joined the group, "Hey John, Francis, I'd just like to say, welcome back. It-uh-it hasn't been the same without you guys."

Jason forcibly restrained from rolling his eyes and nodded, "Max is right. Welcome back."

"Aw," O'Brien feigned a sentimental sniff; throwing an arm around Francis' shoulders, "All the gang's together."

Jason couldn't hold back this time, rolling his eyes. Max grinned in spite of the tough demeanor he was attempting to project; and Francis shrugged off O'Brien's arm.

"See," Johnny Zacchara nudged Spinelli with his elbow, the two of them standing off to the side with Nadine and Maxie, "I told you. Weird."

----


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

**Author's Notes: **Okay, I realize that this one took awhile in coming, but I hope that it was worth the wait. It's longer than usual, and I'm really happy with the way the chapter turned out. Thanks to those who read and reviewed the previous chapters.

----------------

"He wants me to help him find his parents," Jason explained, fitting the clasp of his wife's necklace together for her and then lingering to brush his fingers against the soft, pale skin of her graceful neck.

"Can you do that?" Elizabeth asked, letting her hair fall back and stepping forward to retrieve the t-shirt set on top of their dresser, "Find them, I mean."

"I don't know," Shrugging, he perched on the edge of their bed, "I warned the kid not to get too excited, but—" Accepting the shirt she handed him, he smiled his thanks and pulled the garment over his head. At the disappearance of his muscle-packed chest and flat stomach, Elizabeth couldn't help but wish the offending piece of cotton away.

"It's Spinelli," She finished for him, and he nodded once,

"I know."

"So he's probably half-way over the moon all ready," Elizabeth turned her back to him and rummaged through the dresser drawer for the shirt she wanted. Plucking the green blouse from the drawer, she looked up to find her husband's large form looming behind her in the mirror that hung over their bureau. He leaned in; chafing his big, calloused hands over her arms, and hooked his chin on her shoulder,

"Exactly."

He turned his head just a little; stroking the tip of his nose against her neck before pressing a string of enticing kisses along the curve. Sliding his arms around her, he drew her back against him and sighed deeply, contentedly, in her ear.

"_Jason_," Elizabeth laughed, enjoying his bear-hug like embrace, "The kids are going to be busting in here any second."

"I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for Spinelli," He'd resumed kissing her neck; sweetly, moving slowly upwards, "He'll keep the heathens occupied."

"He _is _good with them," She agreed slowly, melting backwards against him and wriggling sensuously against his front. Reaching behind her, she'd begun to edge that same cotton shirt she'd earlier cursed up inch by inch to reveal his warm skin.

"It's because they understand each other," Jason managed to say; and then a certain part of _her _connected with a certain part of _him_, and all talk of the kids ceased.

Seconds later, he had her lifted from the floor and turned around to face him. Her behind rested on the edge of the bureau for just a moment before Jason had picked her up enough to wrap her legs around his waist. Elizabeth forcefully shoved her hands under his shirt, and his large hands were then massaging under her legs before cupping her behind, "Maybe we've got a few minutes," She allowed, playing the whole thing off as a bit of an imposition, "But just a few."

"Well thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule," Jason teased in a husky voice; finally kissing her straight on the mouth. She sighed against his lips, and her grip got tighter as he turned and lowered her back to their bed. Elizabeth dragged his shirt over his head and threw it somewhere across the room. Wrapping both arms around his neck, she smiled seductively before pulling his head back down to hers.

--------

"We're goin' to the park, we're goin' to the park!" Cameron sang happily, dancing around the living room with Spinelli. Jake, settled on his blanket on the floor, laughed and clapped at the antics of the other boys, calling along with them,

"Park! Park!"

Standing halfway up the stairs, Elizabeth watched her boys happy as they played together and smiled a soft, teary smile. This was what she had wanted for so long. All her boys; under one roof. Her family was finally all together. It had taken longer than she really would have liked, but all that mattered now was that they were all; finally; together again. As it should be.

A repetitive knock on the door came, breaking the moment, and Elizabeth hastened down the stairs to answer, "I'm coming, hold your horses, I'm—"

Her mild scolding stopped dead in its tracks as she discovered who was on the other side of the door. She stood there in shock; one hand on the door frame, the other on the door, long enough for Spinelli to stop dancing with Cam and stand directly between the two boys and the door, warily watching, "Fair Elizabeth?"

"Hey Liz-bits," Lecherously, the Irishman at the door looked her up and down before releasing an appreciative whistle, "_Wow_, you grew up."

"Oh my god!" Elizabeth shrieked, recovering certain parts of her being as she launched herself at the new arrival, "Johnny O'Brien!"

"Ooof," O'Brien took a step back to steady himself as he caught Elizabeth and gave her a tight hug, "Did you miss me or something?"

"When do I get a go at her?" Another familiar voice asked, and Elizabeth found herself passed from one newcomer to the next, "How you doing sweetheart?"

"Francis!" She hugged him hard, "You're back!"

"That I am," Giving his favorite former charge a final squeeze he set her on the floor again, the Italian grinned and asked, "How are you? Been makin' out okay?"

Seeing just who was at the door, Spinelli relaxed his stance blocking Cameron and Jake, "Ah. Greetings, Preferred Protectors of the Night."

"Mr. Spinelli," Francis nodded in the younger man's direction while Johnny fashioned his hand into a V with his index and middle fingers on one side, his ring and pinkie fingers on the other,

"Greetings Earthlings."

"You be nice to him," Elizabeth admonished, playfully cuffing Johnny in the bicep.

"Oh fine," Johnny muttered sourly, "You never let me have any fun."

"Aw, quit your pouting O'Brien," Francis scolded mildly, "You look like you're three."

"Well then," Johnny teased back at Francis, winking devilishly at Elizabeth, "I'm doing better than you then aren't I?"

Francis scowled, Johnny sniggered, and Elizabeth was grinning as she teasingly admonished, "You two be good in front of the kids. I don't need them picking up your bad habits."

"Sure," Johnny agreed as he and Francis stepped fully into the apartment and closed the front door behind them, "I mean, them picking up their Daddy's is probably bad enough."

"I heard that," Jason's voice called from the doorway from the kitchen. Leaning against the curved doorframe, he crossed his arms and pinned Johnny with an almost-Stone-Cold-Stare.

"Good," Johnny grinned, and Cameron scrabbled from his spot by Spinelli to holler with outstretched arms,

"Daddy! We're goin' to the park!"

"That we are, Little Man," Jason agreed, swinging the boy up into his arms, "I'm going to play on the swings."

"Me too Daddy!" Cameron exclaimed, one arm hugging his father's neck happily, and from the floor, little Jake joined in,

"Me Daddy!"

Jason laughed, and all adults noticed in the change in the man they had known when his attention was turned to his kids, "Are we going to be nice and ask Spinelli to play too?" He prompted the boys, and Jake immediately wanted to be first, grabbing Spinelli by the ankle,

"Pinny too?"

With a glimpse first at Jason, Spinelli leaned down and swooped the toddler off the floor, "Of course the Jackal would be pleased to accompany the Young Cam and the Small Stone Cold One on their mission to the playground."

"Now that that's all settled," Smiling, Elizabeth crossed the room to _her boys_ and lifted Jake from Spinelli's arms as the tot held out his chubby arms to her, "It's time to get you two off to daycare."

"Aw Momma," Cameron whined, weaving his other arm around Jason's neck and holding on tighter, "I wanna stay with Daddy. We're going to the park."

"I know baby, but Daddy's gotta work this morning, then he'll take you to the park in the afternoon," She looked to Jason to collaborate; which he quickly did,

"Momma's right Little Man," Giving the preschooler a squeeze, he explained, "You and Jake are going to go with Momma and Francis and then after lunch, Spinelli and I will come and get you so we can go to the park. Cool?"

Cameron seemed to seriously consider it, but eventually he nodded, "Cool," He gave his father's neck another hug before looking up at him with big, imploring brown eyes, "You're not gonna forget right?"

"No way buddy," Jason assured, and the boy seemed content in it. Swinging him to the floor, Jason sent Cameron off towards Francis, "You be good for Mom and Francis alright?"

"Yes Daddy," Cameron gave a long-suffering sigh; as if to signify his father's request was a difficult burden to bear, and the preschooler trundled off to his mother's side.

Jason took the two steps it took to bring him beside his wife, and leaned down to kiss her good-bye. As their lips parted reluctantly (eliciting an elongated _ewww _from their eldest son) Elizabeth raised a brow at her husband, asking,

"How come you didn't tell me Johnny and Francis were back?"

"Uh oh," Johnny muttered audibly to Francis across the room, "He's all ready in trouble."

"Surprise," Jason murmured lightly before leaning in to press another kiss to her lips. He was also met with a sloppy kiss on the cheek from Jake that had him grinning, "Bye Jake," He gently shook the little hand the toddler extended to him, "Have fun at daycare buddy."

"Bye Daddy," A more-gums-than-teeth smile was offered and an unspoken _see you later_ was exchanged between the parents until an exasperated Cameron exclaimed from beside Francis,

"Are ya comin'?"

"We're coming Cam," Elizabeth assured, and soon toddler, preschooler, Mommy, and guard had trundled out of the apartment; a diaper bag and Chuggin' Charlie backpack slung over Francis' arm.

Jason still wore a small smile as the door closed behind his family, and looking around the near-empty living room; he found Spinelli and Johnny watching him; both with bemused looks on their faces, "What?" He demanded; the _Stone Cold_ exterior returning.

"Nothin'," Johnny replied with a grin that implied he was full of it.

But Spinelli had always been forthcoming, and so the hacker replied with, "Ah Stone Cold. It does the Jackal's heart good to see you and Fair Elizabeth united with your progeny once again. The Jackal is most grateful that you have allowed him this glimpse of the union of harmony which is created by the blessedness of a family."

"Uh, thanks, Spinelli," Jason replied, confused; while Johnny looked to Spinelli like the kid possibly was the weirdest thing he'd _ever_ seen.

--------

"Well, well. Look here now," Epiphany clucked her tongue in astonishment as Elizabeth arrived behind the nurses' desk for her morning shift, "Nurse Morgan; arriving on time for her shift," The staunch head-nurse took a double-take as she again checked her watch, "Early even. What got into you today?"

The mother of two blushed slightly as her mind returned to the events of the early morning; but she soon covered with a smile and insisted, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Mmm-hmm," Epiphany muttered disbelievingly, rolling her eyes as if she knew _exactly _what dirty thoughts were flitting through _Nurse Morgan's _mind at that particular moment, "Well since you're here; all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, you can get started. Mrs. Isakson, in 212 needs her meds, and Mr. Reed in 215 needs his bandages changed. You can start there."

"Sure Epiphany," Elizabeth agreed, offering the other nurse a smile, "I'll get right on it."

"I know you will," Epiphany commented in such a way that the sentence could either be a compliment or a warning. She scanned the floor; looking for what, Elizabeth wasn't sure; but the older nurse seemed to find something as she asked, "Is that Francis Corelli I see hovering over by the elevators?"

"Oh, yeah," Elizabeth grinned, and then offered her favorite guard a friendly wave. He responded with a nod before glaring at an intern who had nearly jabbed him with an empty gurney, "That's him. He and Johnny O'Brien just got back into town a day or so ago. I just found out this morning when the two of them showed up at my door."

"Your husband didn't tell you?" Epiphany asked with a raised eyebrow; her tone saying what she thought of that idea.

"He said he wanted it to be a surprise, since he knew how much I missed them," The younger nurse shrugged and then began sifting through the chart binders for the two she needed.

"Now, Johnny O'Brien, isn't he the one that everybody thought had _disappeared_ there a few years ago?" Epiphany asked, and then stopped Elizabeth from answering, "You know what, I don't want to know. You just keep those little secrets to yourself. I don't want no part of it, you hear me?"

"I hear you," She had to hold in a chuckle as she said it, but Elizabeth managed to speak in a sober voice; even though a smile seemed to peek through.

"Good," The gruff nurse admonished, "And you make sure that your husband's boy over there knows to keep himself out of the way. We don't need someone standing in the corner, intimidating everybody and scaring patients away."

"Yes'm," Elizabeth replied with a smirk as she gathered the two recovered charts against her front, and Epiphany responded with another quirked brow, but said nothing. And Elizabeth walked from the hub; heading for the patients' rooms; chortling to herself along the way.

---------

"There's no record of any adoption, open or closed within two weeks of your birth date," Jason scanned the computer screen, scrolling through the list. Spinelli hovered behind the chair he sat in, reading over Jason's shoulder. "There was one, three weeks after," Jason read aloud, and Spinelli couldn't help the surge of hope as he gripped his mentor's shoulder, "But it was girl."

Spinelli sagged, defeated. He'd found nothing on his own, even with his advanced cyber-sleuthing skills. Bringing Stone Cold up to speed on his failure to uncover anything on his true parentage was all the more depressing. After _Johnny O_ had conferred with Stone Cold on matters of business, the Preferred Protector of the Night had exited the penthouse to complete duties unknown, and Spinelli had ceased the moments to share his findings, or rather, lack thereof with his mentor. As it stood; imparting that he had found practically _nothing_, hurt his pride more than he cared to admit.

"We'll find something Spinelli," Jason regarded his protégé's down drawn expression over his shoulder, "It's just going to take time. And maybe, maybe there was no official record of it, so in that case, searching the adoption files would be kind of pointless."

"If that's the case then, how are we going to find anything?" Spinelli flopped dejectedly onto the sofa, bringing his hands up to cover his face, "We'll never find anything; and I'll never know who I came from. I never should've started looking in the first place. It was stupid to even think that I could find anything."

"Hey, hey," Jason spun the chair he sat in so that he could reach Spinelli to cuff the younger man gently in the shoulder, "Stop that. We'll find something. It's just going to take time."

"Time," Spinelli returned, a woeful expression on his face, "Such a cruel, cruel mistress."

Bewilderment had Jason shaking his head and turning back to the computer screen.

A knock at the door drew their attention; Spinelli practically leapt from the couch to answer it. Bewilderment now threw them both as the two looked at their visitor.

"Dominator?" Spinelli finally stuttered, "What brings your exemplary wrestling self to our humble abode?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Alice's eyes darted nervously as she carried a large box in her arms, "But I have something to give Mr. Jason."

"Come on in," Jason stood from the desk chair, motioning for the Quatermaine employee inside, "What's going on Alice?"

"Yes," Spinelli jumped in, glad for the distraction, "Has the Curmudgeonly One invited your ire, leading you to place his exasperating self in a cross-face-chicken-wing?"

Jason was almost positive that Spinelli had just asked if the maid had put his admittedly exasperating Grandfather in some kind of wrestling move. As Alice entered, she gladly set the box down on the desk, grateful to give her arms a rest.

"No, Mr. Edward is fine," Alice assured the pair, "Although when he gets going sometimes I just want to," She stopped, shook her head, and tried to return her mind to the task at hand, "I came here because I was looking for something for Miss Tracy, which she _insists_ that she didn't lose," That _look _came over her face again, but she soon suppressed it, "I found this tucked away behind a few boxes in the attic behind a few of Miss Lila's things," Alice hefted the box again, the muscles in her arms bunching as she lifted, "I thought you should have it."

What should he say to that? Jason wondered. While he usually remained separate from most things Quatermaine. He'd had to; separate what his life had been from what his life was now. Jason Quatermaine from Jason Morgan. They were two separate people; but occasionally overlapped; and it seemed as if this was one such instance. Alice had dragged the box all the way to the penthouse from the Quatermaine home; simply because she thought the occupants of the box would be of interest to him.

"Uh, thanks Alice," Jason began, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck, "For bringing it all the way over here."

"It was no problem Mr. Jason," The redheaded maid/semi-professional wrestler smiled almost flirtatiously at him, "No problem at all."

"Do my eyes deceive me," Spinelli had begun leafing through the stack of photographs piled at the top of the box. He held one picture up for Jason and Alice to see; one of a little blonde toddler. The child in the picture much resembled Jake, but the picture was old and the paper it was imprinted on yellowed and the corners dog-eared, "Or is this a photographically representation of Stone Cold himself as a young tot?"

Leaning in to get a better look, Alice soon confirmed Spinelli's findings, "Yep. That one is of Mr. Jason here as a little tyke. Cute little fella, wasn't he?"

Slightly uncomfortable under the maid's stare, Jason leaned to Spinelli's other side to see the picture. If he squinted, he could see the resemblance between himself as a child and Jake now.

"Way cute," Spinelli agreed, and Jason shot him a glare that had the hacker prattling on quickly, "Who grew up to be a rippling statute of masculinity. And the Small Stone Cold One will do the same."

Spinelli's _cover_ was more embarrassing than his initial reaction, and Jason chastised in a low voice, "Spinelli."

The kid ducked his head and returned to the photographs. The next one he flipped to set Jason aback. There he stood a few years older than the photograph previous; probably a few years before the accident; with one arm wound tightly around a young Emily's shoulders and the other resting around AJ's shoulders. All three Quatermaine siblings were smiling for the camera, Emily was laughing so hard her eyes were closed, and AJ was making a V behind Jason's head with two fingers held aloft. The emotion shining through in that one photograph set him back with a powerful feeling in his chest, and he once again looked to Alice; a grateful, lop-sided smile budding over his face as he murmured sincerely, "Thank you."

Alice returned the smile, all the previous joking aside, and replied, "You're welcome."

-----------

"Elizabeth!"

She didn't want to, but Elizabeth couldn't stifle a groan as her grandmother's voice reached her ears. She really wasn't in the mood for another rendition of why her husband was no good for her; why he was no good for their children. And she _really _wasn't in the mood for having this conversation in the middle of the floor of General Hospital; for all to hear; while she was on shift. But Grams was determined.

"Elizabeth! Did you hear me calling you?"

Covering a long-suffering sigh (so _that's _where Cameron got it) with a fake smile, Elizabeth greeted her grandmother, "Morning Grams. How are you?"

"Physically I'm about as good as always," Audrey replied staunchly, "But I worry sick about you and those boys Elizabeth. Do you really think that living with that," Here she lowered her voice, like a change in pitch could somehow alter the meaning of the word she uttered, "Mobster is really the best thing for those boys? For you?"

"He's their father Grams. He's my husband, and I love him," Elizabeth reminded her grandmother gently, "Cameron and Jake love him, and Jason loves his kids. We're finally getting to be a family."

"I'm not disputing the fact that you love him, or that he loves you and the boys," The older woman shook her head, "What worries me is that you and those boys are going to get hurt or worse simply because you've chosen to be in a relationship with Jason, despite of all the proof presented as to why the whole thing is a _very bad idea_."

"So you're saying that Cameron and Jake growing up with a father that loves them more than anything, who would do anything he possibly could for them, would give them the moon if he could; is a _very bad idea_?" Elizabeth queried, her grandmother's questions striking a chord with her and making her instantly defensive, "Are you saying that having that man; their _father_ there for them is a _very bad idea_?"

"No Elizabeth, that's not what I'm saying at all," Cleary, the older woman was backpedalling.

"Are you saying that I shouldn't be with the man who loves me and who I love because it's a _very bad idea_?" Elizabeth continued vehemently, "Are you saying that raising my sons with their father as a constant, supportive, loving presence in their lives and mine is a _very bad idea_?"

"Now Elizabeth, darling, that's not fair," Audrey was again trying to sway the conversation, "You're twisting my words. Of course the examples you are giving are very good ideas. But you have to know that the possibility of you or those boys getting hurt is raised exponentially because of who you've chosen to be their father."

"So what should I do Grams?" Elizabeth asked; the hurt and anger tingeing her voice. She really didn't want to have this conversation, but Grams had pushed, and so Elizabeth had released the dams, "Go crawling back to Lucky again, even though he makes me feel guilty and not good enough and his insecurities and inferiorities always erupt in the end so we fall apart because he's screwing around? How many times am I supposed to _save Lucky Spencer_? When did that become my job? When did I sign up for that? I put that man ahead of everything; ahead of my kids, my job, myself, and all it got me was a pile of debt and a broken home and a bunch of people surrounding me spouting about how I was Lucky's _Laura_. Well I don't want to be that. I can't save Lucky, and I'm sick of trying and failing; so stop asking it of me."

"Elizabeth, I," Audrey began, but Elizabeth wasn't finished and so she rambled on,

"Or what Grams? I go find another nice guy? Some safe, boring, nice, good guy? I tried that; and it blew up in my face. You remember how the Ric escapade imploded, don't you? Or, say that I found that nice guy. It would never work because my entire heart, my life," Elizabeth's eyes burned from the tears collecting in them, but she pressed on, "Is with Jason. I love him Grams. _I love him_. I have for _years_. I finally have a chance to be a family with the man that I love, with the _father of my children_ and you want me to throw that away? No way."

"Elizabeth, I understand that you love him, I do," Audrey reached out to her grand-daughter; placing a hand on her arm, and Elizabeth thought that maybe she'd gotten through, "But you have to know that you're not safe—"

As soon as _safe_ was uttered; Elizabeth completely cut her off, "I could be walking across town and get hit by a bus. My _son was kidnapped_ a year ago; I was hit by a car and _blinded _a few years ago. My first husband tried to kill me and the next had an affair with a girl who was barely an adult. I understand that bad things happen Gram. I _know that_. I've seen it, I've felt it; I've experienced it. I know that bad things can happen and sometimes there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Life is short and we have to make the best out of the moments that we have instead of bemoaning the things we can't. Being with the man that I love; being married to him; raising our children together; that is making the best out of what I have. Having my family together; that's the _best_ in my eyes," She regarded her grandmother straight on, and the older woman seemed to shrink under the ferocity of her glare, but that didn't stop the words from coming tumbling out of her mouth, "I wanted you to be a part of that family, but since you obviously can't accept the rest of that family then maybe that's not going to happen," The tears had started to leak from her eyes and Elizabeth turned to make her exit, but instead she turned back,

"And had I of been with Jason a year ago that day in the park; I would have had Jason or Francis or Johnny or Max or Milo or Spinelli with me. There would have been someone there for me and my boys, instead of me struggling to hold everything together by myself. That woman wouldn't have been able to walk away with Jake because we wouldn't have been alone," Reaching up, Elizabeth rubbed her fingertips under her eyes to wipe away her tears, "And if you remember; it was Jason who brought Jake home. Not the PCPD, not Lucky. Jason brought our baby home. So before you open your mouth to criticize my _choice _in a father for my boys again; think about who has been the one to step up when we needed him. Think about the one person who let me be me, instead of treating me like I was a vessel with a singular purpose."

And then; without a backwards glance at her grandmother, and wiping the tears from under her eyes; Elizabeth walked away.

------------

"Listen Jason," Nikolas paced the length of his former brother-in-law's living room, "I know what the DA's office and the media are saying about Devlin being a drug smuggler, and I—I have to ask. It's all over right? There is no way of him re-appearing sometime in the future?"

As Alice was leaving, the Cassadine heir had stepped off the elevator and approached the Morgan family penthouse. Upon being allowed entrance, he'd asked to speak with Jason in private, a request that sent Spinelli and his laptop scurrying back upstairs. And then the Prince had begun to pace, and Jason had silently watched him as he waited for the other man to begin talking about whatever it was that had brought him to Jason's door.

"Nope," Jason assured, shaking his head, "Devlin is very gone," Settling back on the arm of the couch, he watched curiously as Nikolas took another turn around the room, "There something on your mind?"

The Prince sighed, making another loop of Jason's living room before he heaved another heavy sigh, stuffed his hands in his slack pockets and spoke, "I know you were aware," He began, "That before I had my surgery I was seeing Emily."

Jason nodded patiently, as was his way, waiting for his ex-brother-in-law to continue.

"Well I wanted to keep seeing her. I couldn't bear the thought of losing her for good, and I kept putting off the surgery," Nikolas continued his story, "I was approached by Doctor Devlin about an experimental drug."

Jason's face remained in its usual mask, but he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest, "I'm guessin' experimental means expensive."

Nikolas nodded, "Ten million."

"Jesus," Jason swore in a low voice.

"Experimental also meant illegal in the States. I wanted to hold onto Emily, even if she was a hallucination, so I paid it, and kept taking it."

"I can't say as I blame you for it," Jason admitted in a low voice, rubbing at his jaw with the flat of two fingers, "If I could take a pill and see Emily again, I can't say I wouldn't."

"It was Nadine who finally made me see that I had to stop living in the past, and start living for now again. She—she was under my desk when Devlin asked me for another ten million. I didn't know she was there until she was at Wyndmere, and started throwing pieces of a train set we'd put together for Spencer, and asking if she'd bonked Emily yet," A small, rueful smile came to the Prince's face, "I refused to give Devlin anymore money, and I got the surgery."

Jason nodded along, smirking as Nadine entered the story, "She's an interesting woman, Nadine."

"She is," Nikolas agreed with a soft smile and something in his expression that made even Stone Cold himself sit back and understand, "And that's part of the reason that I need to know that Devlin is gone. I made a promise to her that I intend to keep."

"Devlin is not coming back," Jason assured once again, "You've got nothing to worry about there Nikolas."

"Thank you," The Prince held out a hand for Jason to shake, "And I assume that this conversation will remain between us?"

Accepting the handshake and firmly returning it, Jason nodded, "You're secrets are safe with me."


End file.
